


Living With The Avengers

by Bugsy135



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Other, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:48:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 27,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25629223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bugsy135/pseuds/Bugsy135
Summary: An 8-year-old Skye is placed with the Avengers, to be her new foster family. how will they deal with a brilliant kid living with them? Also, what will they do when someone comes for her.Basically an AU where Skye goes to live with the Avengers while some people try to take her.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Clint Barton & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Natasha Romanov & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Nick Fury & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Skye | Daisy Johnson & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 56
Kudos: 289





	1. Story of a Little Girl: Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> (Disclaimer: I Do Not own any of the characters in this story. all rights reserved to their rightful owners. This is however my personal storyline.)

It has been 6 months since the battle of New York, the tower has been fixed and named avenger tower. The group of heroes were all staying at the tower now, each with their own floor except Natasha and Clint who shared one instead.

It was a Monday afternoon, and the entire group was in the common room on the main floor. Steve, Nat, and Clint were watching a show while Tony was working on his tablet tinkering with projects. Bruce was splitting his attention between the TV and his work on his tablet. Thor was not with them, as he had not returned from Asgard yet after taking his brother back home.

Halfway through the movie, the ding of the elevator could be heard, making everyone look up at the sound just in time to see Fury stepping out. Steve paused the movie and stood up to meet the man, while Tony put his tablet down muttering about intrusions. Everyone else gave Fury their attention as well. "What can we do for you, sir?" Steve asked. "Don't tell me aliens are invading again" Tony remarked. Fury rolled his eyes walking into the large living space. He was dressed in his usual attire, black clothing with a coat and eye patch. The room was large, a step leading into it. It was filled with a light brown living room set. A 3 seated couch stood at one end, it was where Nat and Clint usually sat. Next to it was a 3 seated couch that was not usually used by anyone, but Steve, who would always sit in the middle of the thing. There were 2 single-seat couches on the opposite side, one was Tony's the other was used by whoever was usually visiting. A circular coffee table stood in the middle, and a large TV occupied the wall, facing all of the couches. The room was tiled, but a large, beautiful rug, with patterns covered the entire living area. Fury sat in one of the single-seat couches that gave him gave him a view of everyone else. He looked so exhausted.

Everyone else sat down as well, wanting to know what the hell was going on. Fury sighed and looked at each one of the people present in the eye. "I am going to tell you a story...." he was interrupted by Tony saying "Great now spy here tells stories." Fury fixed him with a glare before continuing, "And while I tell this story I would appreciate it if there were no interruptions." He looked at Tony and Clint again. "Now about 8 years ago..." Fury continued. "A baby girl was born in the Hunan province of China, where her family was residing. 3 months later an 084 was..." Fury saw the confused looks on almost everyone's faces so he explained, "an 084 is an object of unknown origin. Anyways one was discovered in the village in China. A S.H.I.E.L.D team was sent to investigate and retrieve the object, but about 2 days after they arrived all contact with the team was lost. The head of operations determined that the team most likely encountered hostiles and went dark to getaway. 24 hours later when no contact was made by the team, a rescue team was sent to investigate. When they got to the village they discovered that it had been massacred along with the entire S.H.I.E.L.D team that was sent to retrieve the 084. While investigating the area they found a 3-month-old baby girl in one of the dead Agent's arms. At first, they thought she was dead too but she was actually sleeping and the blood she was covered in belonged to the Agent holding her. She was the only survivor in a village with a population of 679 and a S.H.I.E.L.D team of 16. The Agent in charge of the rescue team decided to bring the girl back to the US where they could search for next of kin. When they returned, the girl was left in temporary care at the Triskelion while the search for a family was done. 8 days after arriving in the US the members of the rescue team started dying. Their bodies were found in their homes and it appeared that they had been tortured before being shot twice, once in the head once in the chest. A month later when only 2 members of the 10 man team remained and no next of kin had been found yet, info was found suggesting that the people killing the Agents were after the girl. It was determined that it would be safer for her if she was put into the foster system...." he was cut off by Clint mumbling "safer for whom."

The thing is Clint had experience in the system and knew what it was like. He was a foster kid to and ran away with the circus when it became too much for him. He just hoped that the girl was ok. Fury cleared his throat and continued the story, "an Agent dropped her at an orphanage without any papers or letter, knowing babies without info were given names and paperwork. An invisible protocol was also set so she never stayed more than 3 months in a single foster family or orphanage. A group of Agents was assigned to keep an eye on the situation at all times."

"2 months after that the head Agent's body was found and the other one just disappeared. We still haven't found him to this day. The girl then spent the next 7 years of her life in the foster system."

"8 months ago there was an attempted kidnapping and the Agents found that whoever was after her, had found her. She was brought to the HUB where I was made aware of the situation. They decided it is best if she were placed with an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, one who could raise her while providing security. I agreed." Fury sighed at sat back in the couch rubbing a hand over his face. "She stayed at the HUB for about a week because we were struggling to find an Agent. Specialists were the only ones with the required skill sets, but..." Nat and Clint both fixed Fury with a glare. "BUT" he emphasized the word, "they did not have the time nor the stability a kid would need, plus they are trained to show no emotion. We needed someone who cared, had a high clearance level, and had the training of a specialist. These types of agents were rare."

"It was the day after the last Agent fell through that Agent Phil Coulson burst into my office saying 'I'll do it'." Everyone looked at him confused. "My reaction was quite similar" Fury stated. "Anyway, Agent Coulson volunteered to raise the girl himself and at first I did not agree but turns out he was the only Agent that fit the bill at the time. So that afternoon he left with her, took her to his home."

All kinds of emotions were flooding the avengers' and Pepper's, who had joined them, faces, shock, and sadness the key ones. "She stayed with him and they actually got really close. 6 months ago he gave me papers to sign giving him permission to adopt her. It was going to be her birthday gift. 3 days later he died in the battle of New York." Fury closed his eye sighing. No one was looking at anything or listening at the moment so he gave them a minute to digest.

Clint and Natasha's minds were racing. Their mentor and father figure was raising a girl and she lost him too. This made Clint feel even more guilty as he still blamed himself for Coulson's death. Both Bruce and Tony were stunned into silence which is saying something when it comes to Tony. Steve did not know what to think. Their attention was snapped back to Fury as he cleared his throat indicating he was continuing the story, "She was taken back to the HUB where Agents determined it save enough to put her back in foster care, but just in a different state. 2 days after the battle she was placed at an orphanage with Agents checking in on her from time to time. 4 months ago she was placed with the Brody family, and then on Monday morning when an Agent went to check on her, the family was found dead in the living room. The 3 other foster kids were shot once through the head while Mr. and Ms. Brody showed signs of torture before being shot twice, once in the chest once in the head just like the others. While doing a sweep of the house, the girl was found sleeping in her bed. We don't know why they did not take her. Either they were interrupted or they could not find her as for some reason she was sleeping on a mattress in the basement behind some boxes." Fury shook his head remembering how he found her. The small and fragile girl lying on an old dirty mattress on the floor, boxes full of dust surrounding her, a copper smell in the air from the blood just above their heads. He stood up and walked to the floor to ceiling windows, watching the city down below. "Never seen something like that before" he stated turning around to look at the group, before continuing, "I picked her up got her out of there making sure she didn't see anything." He walked back to the couch and sat back down looking at the group of people, all kinds of emotions showing, surprise, sadness, and disgust the main ones. "Any questions?" he asked them. They sat in silence watching Fury instead.

Nat broke the silence after a moment, "You checked in on her and found her?" Fury nodded. "Yes, I did. I'm actually quite fond of her ever since I met her when she was signed over to Coulson." Clint was next, "Does she know about what happened to Coulson?" Clint knew the kid would struggle with abandonment issues, especially if she never stayed anywhere for more than 3 months, so it was important she knew Coulson didn't leave her by choice. Fury nodded his head again. "She does. She found the footage from the hellicarrier and saw what happened before anyone could tell her." "Wait what. She saw him die?" Steve asked. Fury looked at the ground, "Unfortunately yes." "Poor kid," Nat said. "How and why did she get access?" Tony asked speaking for the first time. "Well..." Fury began saying, "It appears she got access, no doubt through Coulson..." he whispered the last part but was heard anyways, "She wanted to see the avengers when they got on the hellicarrier and I believe she liked watching Coulson work." Tony smirked. "Kids a fan of us huh?" Fury shook his head, "no she wanted to see her work." "Tony was dumb smacked but Nat was furious, "you have an 8-year-old working for S.H.I.E.L.D?" "No we don't" Fury replied calmly, not bothered by the anger Nat is showing. "Coulson was tasked with the Avengers Initiative..." he started explaining, "and well the girl got involved. She was doing research, reading files, and so forth without anyone knowing. When Coulson found out he asked her about it and she said and I quote 'can't have a bunch of pretenders protecting the world. We need to make sure they're solid.'" Fury chuckled at the memory of Coulson telling him the story one afternoon when he was checking in. Tony looked like a goldfish and Steve just looked troubled. "So our background checks were done by an 8-year-old?" Clint asked while smiling. He liked the kid already. "Well yes but..." Fury replied, "Checks were done, lists were narrowed down long before she got a hold of the shortlist. Besides Coulson had already picked, she was just, Uhm..." Fury looked thoughtful while searching for the right words, "proofing his work. Double-checking you know." Fury looked at Tony and smiled, "come to think of it Tony you have to thank her when you meet her." Tony looked confused. "Yeah, why's that?" He asked. Fury smirked at him, "she was the one to convince Coulson to put you on the team. You weren't part of the original one so she told Coulson to add you..." Fury put air quotes around his next words, "...as no team is complete without at least one person who can hack and at least one person who can create. Tony fits the bill for both those jobs." Fury smirked again. Clint and Steve were laughing while Bruce and Nat had small smiles. Pepper looked at Tony with her own smile while Tony opened and closed his mouth having nothing to say.

"I really want to meet this kid," Clint said finally getting control over his laughter. "Glad to hear you say that" Fury stated, clapping his hands, his spy mask back in place with not even a hint that he had shown emotion. "Back to storytelling so no interruptions" he stated before continuing, "as I previously said, I met the girl before and she had a lot of life. She was always making jokes, talking about anything and everything. She's a genius too, good with computers and so forth. She never let go of that laptop. But since Coulson's death her behavior changed, she's withdrawn, not talking to anyone and she's never on her computer which was the giveaway that she changed. His death hit her hard. She used to hack everything she could but not anymore. She lost her hope." "Why are you telling us all of this?" Tony interrupted not caring about the warning. Fury sighed, "Well considering everything she's been through and the fact that she is in so much danger I decided she needs a safe environment to stay at. One with people who will care and people she might already be familiar with. She needs more than a foster family or some Agent babysitting her. So I decided to bring her to the tower. Tony, you and Bruce have the brains to help her, teach her. Coulson might have told her about you and Nat..." he said looking at Clint. "Steve is trustworthy and she needs someone to trust. I think this would be the best and safest place for her." Fury finished standing and walking to the window once more. "Wait, you want us, the avengers to raise an 8-year-old genius who was fostered by Coulson and is responsible for me being on this team. One who likes computers and can hack?" Tony asked. Fury only nodded. "Done! When can I meet her?" Tony asked his happy self back once more. "I agree with Tony. The kid needs us, besides I owe Coulson." Clint stated. Everyone was shocked to hear Clint saying he agreed with Tony but he was right after all. "I agree" Steve stated. Nat and Bruce nodded. "Okay, it's agreed then," Steve said.


	2. Story of a Little Girl: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers learn more about Skye.

"We will need her files, everything there is to know about her?" he asked Fury. Fury turned around to look at the group, "Her name given by the orphanage was Mary Sue Poots, but she changed it to Skye while living with Coulson. She’s a genius as I said before, with an IQ of 192, two less than that of Tony’s 194. She liked hacking, making jokes, sarcasm was a go-to with her and she had quite the personality. Everything else there is to know about her was in the story I told you." Fury stated. "Look we know S.H.I.E.L.D is about secrets and what not but if she is to stay with us, we are going to need to know everything about her" Nat said irritated. "This isn’t about secrets Agent Romanov. It’s like I said, kids a hacker. She erased everything there is to know about her. She doesn’t exist on S.H.I.E.L.D or anywhere else for that matter. Her only history is what is known by people who have met or worked with her." Tony looked at Fury shocked, "she’s that good?" "Yes, she is." Fury replied. "Did you say Mary Sue Poots?" Clint burst out. "I did, why?" Fury asked. Clint looked at Fury, "about 3 years ago I was handing out presents at an orphanage, gave a laptop to a little girl named Mary Sue Poots. Didn’t know why a 5-year-old wanted a laptop but hey it was what she asked for." Fury nodded, "sounds like the story she told Coulson when asked where she got the laptop." Clint nodded and mumbled, "Wonder if she remembers me.”

Fury stepped away from the window toward the group. "She’s been living with me ever since I found her in that basement..." Fury was cut off by Clint, "You have her living at a S.H.I.E.L.D base?" Fury glared at him, "No Barton! She has been living with me at my home." He stated, clearly annoyed. "Wait, pirate, you have a home?" Tony quipped. "Yes Tony, where else would I be living?" "A S.H.I.E.L.D basement or the hellicarrier," Tony replied. Fury sighed; he was not in the mood for this. "I will bring her by tomorrow after lunch; give you some time to get ready." The group nodded. "Is there anything else Director?" Steve asked. Fury nodded. "Yes, some things that we need to go over. She might have a history of abuse, but we cannot say for certain, as there are o files or anything on her. She also doesn’t want a doctor to examine her so we can’t do any medical scans and so forth. There are also a few “rules” I have for her staying here. These rules are not to be changed or broken do you understand?" Fury asked the group, his intimidating Director face, and posture back in place. The group only nodded so Fury continued, "Yes Skye knows about S.H.I.E.L.D, but she will not under any circumstances train to be an Agent of any kind. If the idea so much as just pops up, dismiss it immediately. I don’t mind her working on projects, helping with ops and so forth but no becoming anything Agent related. Now with that said, I would like someone here to train her in self-defense so she can protect herself, should they come after her again. After all, she cannot stay in the tower indefinitely. Luckily she won’t be going to school as she finished the important subjects while living with Agent Coulson, but Dr. Banner, I want you and Tony to teach her as well. She gets bored easily so challenge her. If she is outside the tower, I want at least one avenger with her at all times. This is just until the threat to her is gone. Other than that, she needs to be a kid, experience the joys of being 8 years old, is that clear?" The group looked at him, confusion, shock, and surprise on their faces. "Of course Director" Steve replied, the rest nodding along. "See you tomorrow, oh and I suggest putting her on a floor with someone else, not alone" and with that Fury got on the elevator and left.

The group stood in the living room not saying anything just glancing and looking at the other members of the team. Pepper excused herself and went to make the necessary arrangements for Skye’s arrival. "Well, that was interesting" Tony stated barking the silence. "Yeah, I did not expect that" Steve replied. "I actually can’t wait to meet her" Tony stated happily, and with that, he left. Steve nodded and left as well, as he had a lot on his mind and needed to clear his head in the gym. In all honesty, Steve was worried; yes most kids loved Captain America but would Skye like Steve Rogers.

"Do you think she remembers me?" Clint asked Nat. Nat sighed, "I don’t know. To be honest I was not thinking about that." She replied. Clint looked at her confused then asked, "What are you thinking about?" Nat looked him in the eye, "well 3 things actually, one did Coulson tell her about us and if so how much. Two, is she researched us, she knows about both our files and what’s in them. She could be scared of us. Third, she saw footage of the guy that was going to be her father die. I mean she’s 8 she shouldn’t have to live with that." Clint put his hand on Nat's shoulder, "look, I don’t know what Coulson might have told her, I mean he didn’t tell us about her so maybe he wanted to keep her away from our kinds of lives. Now if she did read our files we will just have to convince her we won’t ever hurt her and we will just have to help her deal with his death. Be there for her if she will let us." Clint hugged Nat then joked in her ear; "besides Coulson was like a dad to both of us, and that kind of makes her our sister" Nat chuckled but hid her fear. She could face aliens, but meeting an 8-year-old was making her afraid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters do not belong to me, just the story line.


	3. Skye Arrives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers plus Pepper get to meat Skye when she arrives at the tower.

After having lunch the next day, the entire group gathered in the common area waiting for Skye’s arrival. They were keeping busy, Steve and Bruce watching a movie, Clint and Nat sitting in silence lost in thought while Tony was tinkering with his projects on his tablet while Pepper was doing some work of her own on a tablet.

It was about an hour later when the elevator dinged and Fury stepped out a young girl, presumably Skye right behind him. Tony and Pepper stepped closer to the pair while the rest of the group hung back. They had decided the day before to gradually introduce themselves as to not overwhelm her. "Mr. Stark Ms. Potts this is Skye..." he stepped to the side and gestured towards her. Everyone looked at her as she took a breath and stepped forward-looking at the people in front of her a small smile that did not reach her eyes on her face. The first thing everyone noticed was that she was skinny, way too skinny for someone her age and height, they pushed it to the back of their minds, it was a problem for later. She wore a grey long sleeve shirt, worn jeans, and sneakers that had seen better days. Her hair was brown and curved her face, a blond brown color, that matched her brown eyes. Fury looked at Skye, "This is Tony Stark and Pepper Potts" he gestured towards them. "There, standing in the back from left to right is Captain Rogers, Dr. Banner, Agent Romanov, and Agent Barton," Fury told the girl. Skye looked at each person as they were introduced, stopping at Barton and Romanov. Those names sounded familiar she thought to herself before she shook her head to clear her mind. Sister Magna’s voice in her head 'Remember manners Mary, without them you are nothing'. She shook her head again and looked at the group, "It’s nice to meet all of you."

Clint and Nat both had frozen when Skye stared at them, hesitation in her eyes. Both of them were thinking that Skye read their files so she was afraid of them. Clint squeezed Nat’s shoulder as he looked at Skye, who was looking at Fury while clutching a backpack to her chest with both hands.  
"Ok Skye, why don’t you go with Ms. Potts while I talk to Tony here?" Fury said. Skye looked at Pepper then started looking around the room for a safe place to put her bag, which she had been holding close ever since stepping off the elevator. Everyone else was just confused. Skye settled by placing the bag against the nearest wall where she could still keep a close eye on it. She turned to Fury and reached up to hug him. Fury crouched by Skye for the hug. While hugging him Skye whispered in his ear, "thank you for letting me stay with you and for lunch. Bye Nicky" she added the last part sadly then pulled away from the hug retrieving her backpack. "I will visit soon," Fury told her. She turned around and smiled at him, not quite believing him. She turned back and followed Pepper into the elevator.

Fury watched Skye as she climbed into the elevator and the doors closed. He turned around to talk to the team who had all joined Tony now. "So some new info came up" he started, "and I believe it will be best if she slept somewhere close to one of you as last night I discovered that she is having nightmares, woke me up screaming more than once. Plus I also discovered this morning that she has panic attacks so you will have to help her through those as well. I suggest not asking what caused it either, it makes her close herself off from the world. She’ll talk when she’s ready." Fury placed a duffle bag in front of the group, "her belongings, well most of it. No one is allowed to touch the backpack or what is in it which includes her laptop. I will visit as soon as I am back in New York." And with that, he left.

They were just standing there in front of the elevator, processing the new info. Tony had a sullen look on his face, having experience with both nightmares and panic attacks. Clint was about to suggest Skye stay with him and Nat when Tony stated, "she can stay on my floor with Pepper and me." Everyone looked at Tony disbelieve clear on their faces. Tony sighed, "I do have the experience, after all, might as well use it to help her through hers." The team just continued staring; as this was the closest Tony ever came to admitting he had nightmares and panic attacks. "JARVIS please inform Pepper that Skye will be moving to our floor" Tony stated. JARVIS's voice immediately answered, "Sir, Ms. Potts already prepared a floor for Ms. Skye on your floor." Tony gave a small smile and mumbled "of course she did" while getting on the elevator. "Tony can you see if she is willing to come to the common room. We would all like to actually meet her, plus dinners in a few anyways?" Clint asked. Tony only nodded as the doors to the elevator closed. The group made their way to the couches in the common room waiting to see if Skye would join them.


	4. Getting to know Skye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye gets to know the avengers, and they get to know her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter.

When the elevator stopped at Tony’s floor, he had to avoid hitting Pepper while getting out as she was waiting by the elevator. "Tony can I talk to you. It’s about Skye?" Pepper asked him. Tony smiled at her; "of course." Pepper nodded then said, "I think Skye should stay on your floor." She was already gathering facts in her head to use against Tony when he argued about an 8-year-old on his floor, but Tony only nodded, "I agree" he finally said." Pepper looked at him with an incredulous look. Tony sighed, "Why is everyone looking at me like that today?" He asked her. Pepper shook her head, "maybe because you’re acting strangely." Tony sighed again. "Pep I just want to make sure that she’s ok. That she has a life. Is that so strange", he asked her. She only shook her head. "Besides..." Tony started, "Fury said she’s having nightmares and panic attacks. I thought that maybe I could help her with them." Pepper looked at Tony, replaying the new info in her head. She got a sad expression on her face when she said, "poor girl. She’s been through a lot." Tony nodded giving her a small hug. "Which room you put her in?" He asked to change the subject. "The one next to yours" she replied. Tony looked down the hall thinking for a moment. "Is it the one between my room and the one with my worktable?" He finally asked. Pepper only nodded as she was staring at the living room. Tony looked at Pepper just in time to catch the nod. "Where is Skye by the way? The team would really like to meet her?" He asked. Pepper turned to look at him, "she’s in the living room, but Tony, don’t push her. I have some work to do. Call if you need me?" Tony gave her a small smile and nodded. He watched her turn and walk into the elevator. 'Time to find Skye' he thought as he walked towards the living room.

When Tony entered the living room, he found Skye sitting by the floor to ceiling windows looking out at... something. Her back was against one of the pillars that stood along the window walls, knees to her chest, arms folded on her knees, chin resting on her arms. She looked so small and fragile. Tony sighed and walked closer, slowing down the closer he got. He heard her humming a song and stopped in his tracks. He knew that song, his mother always sang it to him at bedtime. Tony shook his head and walked towards her. "Hey Skye," he said. She turned her head, saw him, and instantly crossed her legs straightened her back and folded her hands in her lap. "Hey Mr. Stark" she replied. Tony gave her a small smile and asked, "You found your room? Settling in?" Skye nodded. "Yes, Mr. Stark. It’s a lovely room. Thank you.” Tony rubbed a hand over his face. She was not acting like an 8-year old that’s for sure. "May I sit?" he asked gesturing at the floor in front of her. She looked at the floor, at him then the couches behind him. She gave him a very confused look before replying, "Don’t adults sit on couches and chairs?" Tony shrugged moving in front of her, "I sit wherever I want" he replied sitting down crossed legged in front of her, stretching and relaxing. Skye however immediately tensed and backtracked, "I’m sorry Mr. Stark I didn’t mean to tell you where to sit." Tony looked at her and frowned but then smiled at her, "don’t worry about it, Skye." She relaxed a little but not completely, going back to staring out the window, one hand fiddling with the necklace she wore around her neck. Tony sighed, this is going to be harder then he thought. He decided to talk about something they had in common, "so Fury told me you’re a hacker. Erased yourself from the..." he was cut off by Skye stiffening, dropping the necklace, head-turning towards him, "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I was told not to." She started apologizing. 'Not even a day and you already did 2 things wrong. Nice going Skye' she scolded herself in her mind. Tony chuckled nervously. Clearly this was not working, time to get some backup. "Uhm, Skye. I know you just got here, but the rest of the team would really like to get to know you. They are waiting in the common room. Are you up for it?" He asked her. Skye sighed looked out the window once more then nodded. Tony stood up smiling and then offered her a hand. Skye looked at the offered hand skeptically before hesitantly taking it, Tony hauling her to her feet. 'She needs to eat more' Tony made a mental note. They both walked to the elevator Skye slightly behind Tony fiddling with her necklace again.

The avengers minus Tony were sitting in the common room making small talk, wondering if Skye would be coming down. It had been almost an hour since Tony left when the elevator dings. Everyone looked up to see Tony walking in with a small smile, Skye behind him looking at the entire place as she went. Everyone knew that behavior, looking for hiding places, exits, and so forth. Tony interrupted their thoughts, "guys Skye will be joining us today" he said excitedly, proud that he at least got that done. He sat in one of the single couches. Skye stood at the entrance to the room, looking around at everyone; eyes linger on Agent Barton and Romanov. She walked towards one of the pillars and was about to sit on the floor when Tony spoke up, "Skye, couch. In this tower, everyone sits where they want to, even you." He told her, gaining confused looks from everyone but Clint who understood her way of thinking which made him angry, but he schooled his features not wanting to scare her. Skye looked at Tony and smiled then turned to look for a seat, noticing there were only 2 left, one in-between Barton and Romanov and one next to Captain Rogers. She decided on the one next to Captain Rogers, knowing it gave her a way out as one side had no one there, plus Saints weren’t supposed to hurt people.

When she took her seat, Nat and Clint were both saddened again, 'was she that scared of us' they thought. She sat down on the couch, straight-backed, hand in lap the other fiddling with her necklace. She did that all the time, 'stop fiddling' came sister Magna’s voice in her head and she immediately folded her hands in her lap.

Everyone sat in an awkward silence observing her, as she behaved like a disciplined soldier instead of a kid. Luckily they had Tony to break the silence. "I have an idea", Tony stated. Clint immediately started saying no to Tony and his ideas, but Steve gave him a chance, "let’s hear it, Tony". Tony smiled and replied; "I suggest we play 20 questions without...." the rest was cut off by Nat saying, "Tony there’s a kid living with us now, no alcohol." Tony gave her a disbelieving look before saying, "if you let me finish you would have heard me say without the alcohol but with sodas or juice. Normal 20 questions" he huffed. Clint smiled then added, "I think it’s a good idea. I mean we could all get to know Skye and her us." They gave Clint a disbelieving look for agreeing with Tony but nodded. They turned to Skye to ask if she was ok with that to only find the most confused face of confused faces looking at them. Bruce chuckled but asked, "What’s got you so confused?" Skye looked at him, “what’s alcohol?" she asked the group who suddenly got uncertain looks. Everyone looked at Tony to answer. He scratched the back of his neck, "Uhm..." he sighed, "alcohol is found in things like whiskey or vodka and we drink it, but..." the rest was cut off by Skye making a disgusted noise and fake gagging. Everyone chuckled, "I take it you know what whiskey and vodka are?" Natasha asked. Skye nodded but scrunched up her nose. "I do but..." she started saying "you’re not supposed to drink it. You’re supposed to pour it on wounds to help them heal, especially if you need stitches." Now everyone looked at her with shock and surprise. An 8-year-old was not supposed to know that. Skye saw their looks and thought they were angry at her so she started apologizing, "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have...." she was cut off by Clint asking, "How long have you known that?" a serious tone in his voice. He was unhappy, not liking where things were going. Skye stared at him if only she could place a name to the face. She shook her head furrowing her brow. "Uhm, as long as I can remember actually," she told Clint. Everyone was angry, but Tony who did not quite understand yet. "Yes, but why?" He asked. He was about to clarify his question but Skye seemed to understand as she answered, "Dillon, a foster boy I stayed with once. He and I always took turns stitching up and cleaning everyone’s cuts and bruises." She told Tony, who looked more confused. Kids should be taken to a hospital. Skye sighed, "Mr. Stark... Uhm Tony, you would be surprised at how deep a gash a piece of wood can leave behind...." she was cut off by Pepper, who she didn’t notice come in and hear her story, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Skye startled by Pepper jumped and turned, backing up into Steve’s side, who tried not to touch her, not wanting to get the same response. "I’m....sorry" Skye chocked out trying to apologize but failing. She couldn’t catch her breath and it felt like something was sitting on her chest. Tony knowing the signs of a panic attack when he saw them stood up walked over and crouched in front of Skye. He placed a gentle hand on one of her knees, which was now being hugged to her chest. "Skye, calm down, ok," he told her getting her attention. Everyone else was standing around watching worriedly, but, happy with Tony taking the lead. "Hey, breathe ok. Take a deep breath in, deep breath out, ok. Follow me" he told her making a show of taking a deep breath in then out. Skye started mimicking him and about 10 minutes later she calmed down. Everyone but Tony took their seats once more, while Tony talked to Skye. "Better?" he asked her. Skye nodded, took a deep breath, and replied, "Yes, thank you, Mr. S...Tony" No problem he said standing up. He sat on the arm of his chair leaving the seat open for Pepper. "I’m sorry I startled you" Pepper apologized to Skye feeling guilty. Skye looked at her and gave her a small smile, "its ok Ms. Potts. Not your fault" Pepper nodded and sat down as well. Everyone started making small talk again, while Skye sat and looked at everyone, stopping on Barton and Nat every now and then. They knew she was staring but only smiled at her in turn.


	5. Learning more about Skye

Steve didn’t mind that Skye was practically sitting on his arm, but his arm was having bad pins and needles. He shifted it to get the blood flowing, which reminded Skye where she was sitting. She immediately moved to the opposite side of the couch, "Sorry Captain Rogers." He gave her a small smile, "Steve please, and it's fine". He thought for a second then added, "It was actually nice having someone care enough about me to sit next to me." He nodded towards the group, knowing they cared to, but he wanted to find a way to make Skye more comfortable. Skye gave him a genuine smile, "ok Steven" she told him. Steve smiled back at her, not having been called Steven since before the ice.

About an hour later of chatting and making jokes, Skye’s stomach rumbled loudly making almost everyone chuckle. “I think it’s time for dinner,” Pepper said standing up and getting a tablet. Knowing the group, tonight was going to be take-outs. She’ll make sure Skye eats healthier from tomorrow, kid deserved a break. Skye sighed, but stood up and started going towards the elevator. Tony looked at her puzzled, "where are you going, kid?" He asked. Skye stopped and turned towards him, “you guys said dinner time, and so I’m going to my room." She stated. Tony looked even more puzzled, "but why?" He asked. Skye sighed, "It’s the rules, isn’t it? We the children go to our rooms, during dinner, if you were good and did not make bad decisions, then you eat in the dining room" Skye told the group. Steve stood up and walked over to Skye crouching down in front of her, "ok so what bad thing did you do that means you have to go to your room?" he asked. Skye looked at the floor, "I wasn’t supposed to hack but I did. I also tried to tell Tony what to do and earlier I brought up the rod and stitching. We are not supposed to talk about that, Steven" she told him. Steve put a finger under her chin making her look at him, "Skye talking about your past isn’t wrong, and hacking is a problem for another day. And I’m sure Tony didn’t mind you suggesting he do something, everyone does it ok. You did nothing wrong" she looked at Steve, eyes watery. She hesitated but then gave him the biggest hug she could. Steve smiled, but the kid was just bones which worried him. He stood up and offered her his hand, which she took and he leads them back to the couch. As they sat down Steve told Skye, "If you feel more comfortable eating in your room that’s ok, but you’re welcome here ok?" Skye stopped to look at him confused, "we are not allowed to eat in our rooms. Steven." Now everyone was confused. "Where’d you eat then?" Clint asked. Skye turned to him, he looked so familiar. "You didn’t. If you are bad you go to your room and skip dinner" she stated sitting on the couch again right next to Steve. "I’m sorry what?" Almost everyone asked at once. Skye looked at Steve hesitantly but then answered the group’s question, "If you’re bad you skip dinner, if you wash the dished in the morning, you get an apple and if chores are done by lunch, you get a scoop of oats. Those who were good are allowed a peanut butter sandwich at dinner." Suddenly realization hit them all as they now understood why Skye was too skinny. She hadn’t been eating enough. Bruce adjusted his glasses before asking, "Skye when’s the last time you had a proper meal?" Everyone looked at Skye not sure they wanted to know the answer. Skye thought about it for a minute then answered, "Nicky...Uhm Director Fury got me a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch." Bruce shook his head, "no Skye I mean when’s the last time you had a proper meal, a full plate of food where you ate until you were full?" Skye furrowed her brow thinking, "oh I know, Mr. Coulson always made the nicest dinners, and on days he had to work late, he would wake me up when he got home and we would eat ice cream while watching movies" she told the group excitedly. They however were not exited, "that’s 6 months ago Skye." Nat told her. "I know. He also made the best deserts..." she continued. Well, at least now they knew how to get her exited, talk about Coulson, Ice cream and desert.

"Anyways, on to happier topics, what’s for dinner?" Tony asked when Pepper sat back down with the tablet full of menus. "Oh, I don’t know, Skye what’s your favorite food?" Clint asked wanting her to pick dinner. Everyone caught on to what he was doing and pretended to be clueless too. Skye started smiling, "Coulson always made these big round bread thingies with all kinds of stuff on top." she said trying to think of the name. "Pizza" everyone exclaimed at the same time. Skye nodded, "yeah pizza!" She said loudly. Pepper smiled, "pizza it is then" Skye looked at her, "really?" She asked uncertainly. Pepper nodded, handing Tony the tablet. He was always in charge of ordering pizza. "So kid what toppings you want?" Tony asked. Skye looked at him in thought, "I don’t know" she stated softly. "Okay, what’s your favorite?” Steve asked. "Well..." she started replying, "I didn’t know what pizza was when dad first made it so he decided to make different ones each time. Coulson said I wasn’t allowed to choose a favorite before trying them all." Everyone was a little surprised to hear Skye refer to Coulson as a dad, but said nothing expect Clint who was stuck on the not choosing a favorite before trying them all. "Of course he did" Clint mumbled. "Okay, how bout we order the ones you haven’t tried yet so you can find your favorites?" Tony asked. Skye immediately started shaking her head. That was her and Coulson’s thing, no else’s’. "No, no I think I’ll just have what everyone else is having." She said frantically. "It’s okay Skye, I’ll just get some extra okay," Tony said standing up, knowing not to touch the subject of traditions between Skye and Coulson. Skye nodded. Pepper whispered in his ear, "Get some extra vegetarian and meat pizza. She’ll probably like those." Tony nodded walking off to place their orders, knowing what everyone else preferred. Skye relaxed as Tony walked of, moving closer to Steve. She was starting to get cold, and the guy was like a heater, plus no one cared to sit next to him. He needed to know someone cared.

Steve smiled at Clint when Skye moved closer, he was earning her trust. She shifted again to look up at him, "Steven, can I ask you a question?" Steve looked at her, "yes, if I can ask you one as well?" Skye furrowed her brow thinking about it. 'She clearly thinks things through' he thought to himself. Skye smiled and extended her hand, "Deal". Steve smiled and shook her hand, "Deal". Skye shifted so she can look at him again, "Do you know your birthday Steven?" She finally asked. Steve smiled, "I do 1918 July 4th." Skye smiled then settled back down next to him, practically snuggling into his side. "It’s your turn," She told him. Steve had thought that she would react, finding out his birthday, but apparently it just rolled off her back. "Ok, why do you keep calling me Steven?" Skye frowned and sat up. "It’s your name, but if you don’t like it I can call you something else. I hate when people call you things you don’t like" Steve put a hand on her shoulder and she froze for a second, but then relaxed. Steve frowned but ignored it, answering the question instead, "I don’t mind you calling me Steven. It’s just I haven’t been called that since my best....since a long time ago." Skye stood up onto her knees on the couch and leaned forward to put her arms around Steve's neck. He hugged her back, and she whispered in his ear, "I’m sorry about your brother." Steve gave a sad smile remembering Bucky then whispered back, "thank you, Skye. It means a lot." She tightened the hug for a second before letting go, sitting down and snuggling into Steve’s side once more.

After a few minutes Clint broke the silence, “If we are trading questions, I would like to ask you one Skye?” Skye looked at him then Nat then back at him, “Sure Agent Barton, you go first.” Clint smiled, “Thank you and call me Clint. My question is, why do you only call Coulson dad some of the time?” Clint stared at Skye waiting for an answer, but she was lost in thought. She knew that name, Clint Barton. Skye repeated the name in her head over and over, tuning everything else out, when suddenly it hit her, who they were and why they looked so familiar.


	6. Skye knows Clint and Natasha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye finally recognizes the assassin duo.

Clint chuckled when he noticed she had spaced out, no longer expecting an answer to his question. Skye suddenly sat up straight looking at him with a huge grin on her face. “Clinton Francois Barton” she exclaimed jumping up and then proceeding to run to the elevator, nearly running into Tony who was just coming back from ordering their pizza. “Slow down Skye,” he told her, but she never heard as she jumped into the elevator, frantically pressing the button. “If only these things could move faster” she mumbled.

Tony chuckled walking into the living room, going to stand behind a couch, “what’s gotten into her?” he asked the group. No one answered, so Clint shrugged, “My name apparently”. Tony looked at him confused. “Told her my name, she got excited and took off” he explained. Tony nodded, “Dinner will be here in half an hour. JARVIS where did Skye go” Tony asked. The group nodded their heads as JARVIS replied “She is currently on your floor in her bedroom sir.” Tony looked at the floor, worried about Skye. ‘Is this what parents feel like’ he thought to himself then froze for a second at the thought of being a parent. He shook his head, “JARVIS please inform me if she needs help or if she goes anywhere else” JARVIS only took a second to reply “Of course sir”.

It wasn’t even 5 minutes later when JARVIS spoke again, “Sir I believe Skye is on her way back to you.” The elevator dinged just as the AI finished. “Thanks, JARVIS” Tony stated watching Skye slowly walking towards him and the living room, with a wooden box in her hands. She stopped right next to him and gave him a small smile, then turned towards Clint and Agent Romanov, “Clint, Agent Romanov, may I speak to you in private for a moment?” Clint nodded and stood up; offering a hand to help Nat up, all the while wondering what was going on. If she was afraid of them why would she want to talk to them in private, plus the way she reacted to hearing his name? Maybe Coulson did mention them.

The 3 of them moved just out of earshot from the rest of the team, but still visible. Skye was facing the way of the living room with Clint and Nat’s backs towards the rest of the group. Skye looked up at them nervously as they were very intimidating. Clint and Nat both saw this so they crouched down in front of her, while Clint asked, “What’s up kid?”

Skye gave him a small sad smile but continued anyway. “I need to tell you a story, but I need you to promise you won’t interrupt. It might make you feel sad, but I made a promise and I have to keep it.” They were confused but promised to keep silent until the end of the story. Skye nodded and began her tale, “A few days...”

Flashback

It was a few days before the battle of New York when Coulson told Skye that they were going to the mall the following day, to get her some clothes and whatnot. Skye was very excited to go off course, but a bit scared too. Coulson had promised her ice cream afterward.

The following day they left around 9 am and had about 7 bags worth of stuff already packed into the car around 3 pm when Coulson decided to call it a day. They were walking towards an ice cream shop, as Coulson always kept his promises. It was as they were walking past a jewelry store, that Skye spotted a beautiful necklace with a flower pendant, in the window. She had stopped to admire it when Coulson crouched next to her, also looking at the necklace. It was then that he asked her if she would like to have one, and she agreed. When they were in the store, Coulson decided to engrave his name on the back of the pendant, so Skye would know that she would always be part of his family. He was waiting for the man to finish the necklace when Skye tugged on his arm, showing him another necklace with an eagle on. He asked her if she wanted that one as well when she told him it was for him, so he could know he was her family. He smiled at her and handed it to the clerk, asking that Skye’s name be engraved on it.

As they were waiting, Skye suddenly asked him if he had any other family. He told her no, but that Barton and Romanov were like children to him, which meant that they were going to be her siblings. Skye replied by saying that Coulson should get them something too, to show them that they were his family. Coulson had agreed and went in search of something for them too. He had come back with two more necklaces; one had an arrow and the other a spider. He said that it fitted them like the flower fitted her and the hawk, which looked a lot like the shield logo, him.

Clint and Nat’s necklaces were engraved with Coulson as well. That afternoon Skye asked when Coulson was going to give the necklaces to Barton and Romanov, only for Coulson to reply that they were going to be gifts for Christmas. Skye had nodded, fiddling with the necklace around her neck as it was new to her. He placed both items in a wooden box on his desk, wherein all his photos of him and Skye were, along with the few items that were sacred to Skye. He had promised to keep them in there and safe for her.

End Flashback

“It was about an hour after that when Nicky showed up and told Coulson to assemble the avengers, that there was a threat to New York. I hacked the hellicarrier to see you guys arriving, and because I loved watching dad work. Plus I wanted to see him fan girl about Steven. The following day I got a message saying the adoption papers went through, but when I called dad to tell him he didn’t answer. I checked the cameras and that’s when I found the footage of...” Skye shook her head remembering Coulson’s death. Tears were running down her cheeks. She placed the wooden box on a nearby table, and took two necklaces out, turning back to Clint and Nat. She stepped closer to Nat and with hesitation, placed the necklace around her neck, giving her a small watery smile. Tears were threatening to fall from Nat’s eyes as well. Skye stepped back from Nat but didn’t go closer to Clint yet. She spoke up again, “that day I promised that I would someday find the people who were my siblings for a day, and tell them how Coulson felt about them. I also promised to keep these save until I could give them to you.” She stepped closer to Clint to put the necklace around his neck, a small smile on her face. She was about to step back when Clint pulled her into a bear hug. She stiffened for just a sec, before hugging him back, whispering in his ear, “It wasn’t your fault, trust me.” Clint let the tears fall; as such a huge weight was suddenly lifted from his shoulders hearing her say that. Skye glanced at Nat, and tilted her head, telling the assassin she was welcome to join, and she did. Nat started crying as well, the moment Skye put her arms around both Nat and Clint’s necks, feeling so much love for the kid in front of her. ‘Yes, they were helping this kid, but just maybe she was helping them heal too’ Clint thought.


	7. Having Their First Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, but here is a longer chapter than usual. Enjoy.

Tony was going to make a joke the moment the trio walked into the living room, but he restrained himself when he noticed Skye still had tears on her cheeks, and both Clint and Nat’s eyes were red and puffy from crying. Instead, he gave the two adults a questioning look, only to have Clint shake his head. Clint and Nat took their seats while Skye walked over to Steve, who raised his arm as an invitation for her to snuggle with him once more; an invitation Skye readily accepted with an actual smile. She was starting to like sitting with Steven, and it really helped that he was warm.

A few minutes into conversations about nothing, Steve noticed Skye balled up next to him and starting to shiver. “You okay Skye?” he asked, gaining everyone in the room’s attention. Skye looked at him and smiled, “F...fine” she said still shivering. “JARVIS please turn up the heat in this room” Tony requested, standing up and walking to the hallway, retrieving a blanket, which he covered Skye with. As he tugged her in, Clint chuckled lightly at how fatherly Tony looked. Tony on the other hand could not be bothered as he was worried about Skye. His fingers had brushed against her neck while tucking her in and her skin was ice.”Skye, you’re practically frozen, why didn’t you say you were cold?” he asked her in a serious tone. Skye looked down at the ground, and mumbled, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to ask for things on my first day.” Tony sighed, “It’s ok. Better now?” he asked changing the subject. Skye looked back at Tony, “Y...yes. Thank...k you.” She said still shivering. Steve went to put his hand around her, but Skye flinched, thinking the hand coming towards her was going to hit her. Both Steve and Tony looked at her concerned, but anything they wanted to say was cut off by JARVIS informing them that their dinner had arrived. Clint volunteered to fetch the delivery as he was still thinking about his, Nat, and Skye’s conversation from earlier and he needed to clear his head. Nat and Pepper went to get cutlery, soda, and juice for everyone.

Skye pulled her blanket off, sitting up, ready to go to the dining room when Bruce asked her what she was doing. “Getting ready for diner, Dr. Banner.” She replied. “Uhm...” she looked around, standing up, neatly placing the blanket on the couch. “J, where’s the nearest sink or bathroom?” Skye asked the AI. Tony was about to tell her that the AI only responded to being called JARVIS, when the AI answered, “The kitchen Skynet. It’s to your left through the door”. “Thanks, J”, Skye said walking to the kitchen, Tony just staring at her. Just then Clint entered to see a dumbstruck Tony and a very confused Steve while Bruce just sat and smiled. “What happened?” Clint asked, placing the boxes of food on the table. Bruce laughed standing up to go wash his hands as well, Steve on his heels. Bruce stopped right next to Clint on his way to the kitchen, “Tony just figured out that Skye’s hacker handle is Skynet, which is the same hacker that hacked him about a year ago” he said answering Clint’s question, then leaving. Clint burst out laughing, saying, “a 7-year-old hacked you, Tony!” Tony only nodded then went to wash hands as well, Clint right behind him.

About 15 minutes later everyone was in the Common room once more, loading pizza on to their plates and sitting in their seats to eat. Skye waited until everyone else was done, before walking to the table with the food, adding a slice of vegetarian pizza to her plastic plate, which Pepper had given to her earlier. She chose a spot out of the way and sat down on the floor right next to the coffee table. Clint was about to protest when Tony cut him off, “Skye you can sit on the couch and eat, it's fine” Skye smiled at him, “Thank you, but I prefer here. I can’t quite hold my plate and eat. The table helps” Tony nodded at her while Bruce walked to her giving her a pillow to sit on before retreating back to his place.

After about 20 minutes of eating in silence, Skye placed her empty plate with the rest of the dirty dished on the table, cleaned her hands with a napkin, and went to sit down on the couch next to Steve, giving him space as he was still eating. “Skye you can have more if you like,” Pepper told her, knowing she only had one piece, as she was keeping an eye out to make sure the girl ate enough for once. Skye shook her head, “No thank you. I’m a bit full, that slice was big.” Pepper nodded, and then whispered to Tony, “We’ll have to save her some for later.” He just nodded his head. He was about to offer her some more soda when he noticed her glass was still full, untouched. He didn’t say anything but made a mental note to ask about it later.

Later came about 5 minutes later, when Skye started fidgeting with her necklace. Everyone knew by now that she did that when she was nervous or scared. “What’s wrong Skye?” Steve asked. “Uhm...May I have my water for the day please?” she asked. Steve was about to stand up to get the water when her words registered, “What do you mean for the day?” Did Fury forget to tell them about a medical condition or something? Steve thought. Skye shrugged, “I’m only allowed 4 glasses of water a day. I had 1 this morning, 1 at lunch then one just before coming here, so I have one more left” she stated, counting them off on her fingers. “Why only 4?” Bruce asked. “Mr. Brody said so” she replied. “Ok, did he have a reason?” Steve pressed further as they needed to know the reasons, especially if it was medical. Skye just shrugged again, as she was really thirsty and just wanted to have her water. “Did a doctor say so?” Clint asked instead, already suspecting she’ll say no. With how her foster families were when it came to food, he could imagine them, limiting the water as well. Skye furrowed her brow but answered anyway. “No, Mr. Brody said that kids living in his house will follow his rules or get sent back. The water was one of the rules.” That statement made everyone angry, what kind of person did this. Clint stood up, collected her glass of soda, and brought it to her, “here you go” he said handing her the small glass. Skye took it from him gently and gave him a small smile. “Thank you. Dad always let me have Soda too, but only 1 glass. Gave me juice the rest of the day, saying something about nut...nutri...nutrition, or something like that.” Skye said then took a small sip to taste the soda, then proceeded to gulp the rest of the glass. Everyone chuckled at her behavior even though in the back of their minds, it saddened and angered them; thinking about what the girl had been through. Bruce stood up, and gathered the dishes, thinking that if Coulson had thought it wise to keep an eye on her nutritional intake 6 months ago, then he would have to talk to the rest of the group about a diet plan for Skye until she put some weight back on. Just then Skye’s little hands started helping him pick up dishes; he smiled his thanks to her as they started making their way to the kitchen, leaving the rest of the group behind. “Hey Nat, Clint you guys ok?” Steve suddenly asked. Nat nodded her head, while Clint asked, “Why wouldn’t we be?” “It’s just, the two of you looked a little down before dinner” Tony replied for Steve. “yeah.” Clint started, rubbing a hand over his face. He looked at Nat for permission, and when she nodded, he continued, “Turns out Coulson did tell her about us. Told her we were going to be her siblings when she was adopted and what not. They went shopping, and well Skye came up with the idea of getting engraved necklaces as a way to remind us that we were family. She’s been holding on to them ever since, after promising to get the necklaces to us no matter what. She also told us how she found out about Coulson dying. Turns out the adoption went through, and when she found out, she wanted to tell Coulson. She couldn’t reach him on the phone, so she checked the cameras and found the footage.” Everyone winced at that. Just then Bruce walked in, and Clint looked for Skye, but she was not with him, Bruce seeing the confusion simple said “bathroom” as he took his seat. Truth be told Bruce was having a bad day. Ever since New York, every fan of his, he ever met, was a fan of The Hulk. That morning he had run into a bunch of fans asking him questions about the green guy. It made him feel invisible like Dr. Bruce Banner didn’t exist anymore.

Tony noticed the heaviness in the air, and when Skye came back, he decided to lighten the mood. Skye was just coming into the living room, when Tony asked, “So Skye, you never told us who you’re favorite Avenger is?” Skye froze mid-step and almost tripped. She couldn’t answer that question, not without making someone mad. Clint chuckled, “Don’t worry about it Skye, no one cares who your favorite is. Yes, Tony’s ego might take a hit when he finds out it isn’t him, but otherwise it’s cool.” He told her. Bruce just sat back hoping she didn’t say the hulk. He was not in the mood to deal with another fan. Tony mocked being hurt but then looked at Skye expectantly. Skye sighed, but answered never the less, “Dr. Banner is”. Tony faked being hurt, Steve chuckled and Clint outright laughed. “Bruce looks like The Hulk has another fan” Nat stated, only to have Bruce plaster on a fake smile. Skye quickly shook her head, “No not the Hulk, Dr. Banner” she said aloud. Bruce looked up at that and stared at the girl, while Tony stated “Dr. Banner is the Hulk kid”. Skye just shook her head again. “Okay explain?” Tony said. Skye smiled, “The Hulk is an alter ego of Dr. Banner, another being. Dr. Banner is his own person and I choose him as my favorite Avenger. He is a genius, and made a great career when no one believed in him.” Skye started walking colder to Bruce’s seat, defending him. Tony raised his hands in defeat, laughing with everyone else, except Bruce who was looking at Skye with watery eyes. Skye turned to him and saw his expression. She walked to him and softly asked if he was ok, not wanting to gather everyone’s attention. Bruce nodded, “I am thank you. Thank you for saying that. It meant a lot” Bruce told her. Skye smiled at him, “I meant it” and with that Bruce gave her a hug. About a minute later he let go, his day having been made a lot better by the girl in front of him. Skye simply smiled and went back to her seat, snuggling into Steve’s side, as he covered her with the blanket.

Everyone was idling chatting, exchanging stories and a few laughs, even Skye joined once and a while. It was around 9 pm when they noticed Skye was no longer joining them and found her fast asleep against Steve. He was about to wake her, to get her to go to her room, when Tony picked her up, smiled, and said his goodnights to the group, and walked to the elevator, Skye never waking or even stirring in her sleep. Everyone else said their goodnights as well and retreated to their own floor.


	8. Talking About Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another late chapter. Work gets in the way of hobbies sometimes.

Tony laid Skye in her bed, covered her in her blankets, and left the room, closing the door behind him after switching off the light. He went to the small lab slash workplace in the room next door closing its door to ensure he didn't wake Skye while working as he was not going to bed. He always worked late and then slept in, well tried to anyway.

At 3 am, Tony was so deep in concentration while working his latest project, he didn't hear Skye screaming. About a minute later JARVIS spoke up, "Sir, Skynet is on her way to this room" Tony looked up at the clock noticing the time. "Why is she awake?" Tony asked no one in particular but JARVIS answered anyway, "I believe she had a nightmare, sir. She woke up screaming." Tony sighed and then there was a knock on his door. He looked up and gestured for Skye to come in. Skye opened the door but did not enter, instead, asking, "Can I sit in here while you work?" Tony put down his tools and walked around the table. "Sure kid, have the couch," he told her gesturing to the 3 seated couch against one of the walls, which had a blanket and pillow folded and placed on it as well. Tony would sometimes nap there when working, instead of going to his room. Skye nodded and entered, walking over to the couch, the nightmare still fresh in her mind. "Nightmare?" Tony asked. Skye just nodded again. Tony dragged his hand through his hear, then went and took the seat next to Skye's. "Look, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but if you do I'm here ok. Sometimes talking can help." He told her. Skye looked at him, and then asked, "Do you have nightmares." Tony nodded his head, reaching past Skye for the blanket, unfolding it and covering them both. "Do you talk about them?" Skye asked as Tony sat back on the couch. "No I haven't, not to anyone," Tony said closing his eyes, then looking at Skye when he felt her moving. Skye sat back as well mimicking Tony. "Are they about what happened in New York?" she then asked hesitantly. Tony sighed, if talking about it helped her, he didn't care how it made him feel. "Yes, they are. I keep dreaming that I died out there in space and that those aliens, won instead of us. Sometimes I still have nightmares about being stuck in Afghanistan too." Skye gave him a small hug from the side, "I'm sorry you have nightmares Tony" she told him, then sighed. Tony gave her a small smile and thanked her. Skye looked at the wall across from them on the other side of the large room. Tables filled with all kinds of tools and projects in-between. "I keep dreaming about the Brody's" Skye started telling him. Tony remembered the story Fury had told them, and how the family was killed. He didn't say anything, wanting Skye to vent and say what she wanted to. "Those men did awful things to them, and it looked so..." she was cut off by Tony sitting up and looking at her. She wasn't supposed to know what happened to them. "Skye how do you know what happened?" he asked. He was all for letting her speak, but he needed to know how she knew. "I was thirsty and wanted some water. It was after midnight so had 4 glasses again, and I just wanted to have some, but when I got to the top of the stairs..." she trailed of remembering everything she saw. Tony's face went completely white and his skin cold. Skye saw what happened, he realized. He needed to tell the others but Skye came first so, he gave her a hug and nodded for her to say what she wanted. "They had shot the other kids and were hurting Mr. And Ms. Brody, asking them questions about Mary Sue Poots. They wanted to know about me, but Brody's didn't know about my previous name. I got scared when they shot them, so I ran and hid in the basement. When I heard footsteps, I pretended to be sleeping, but it was Nicky." Skye continued tears running down her face. "I keep having dreams about it, and sometimes those people find me and hurt me too" she finished. Tony pulled her close, almost in his lap, holding her while she cried. "They will never hurt you, Skye. We will protect you I promise" Tony told her. They sat like that until Skye cried herself to sleep, still in Tony's arms. He didn't dare move, replaying everything she had told him in his head until he too fell asleep.

The following morning everyone but Tony and Skye was having breakfast in the large dining room. It was still early so the light shining through the window had an orange tint to it. The dining room wasn't so much a room as it was a piece of open living space right next to the kitchen. A large light brown oak wood table stood in the middle, 6 chairs on either side. No one sat in any particular order, just taking a seat and digging in. That morning, Tony's staff had prepared pancakes, waffles bacon coffee, and tea. There was juice as well especially now with an 8 year, which was nowhere to be found.

Around 12 pm the team decided to go search for them, as it was unusual even for Tony who normally joined them around 10. They decided to start in the workshop on Tony's floor and work their way down, as the workshop is where he was usually found. They did not ask JARVIS as they knew that this was probably not an emergency.

When they arrived at the workshop, they all entered into the long room. Workbenches stood, littered with all kinds of projects and tools, but what caught their eye, was on a couch in the corner of the room. There laid both Tony and Skye fast asleep. Tony had his feet under him, his side on the armrest, Skye on his other side using him as a pillow and mattress, the blanket pulled over both of them, Skye clutching Tony while Tony held the pillow. Clint took out his phone, taking multiple pictures. It was just too adorable to miss. Steve nodded to everyone then the door, not wanting to wake the duo up. As they turned to walk, Tony stirred, gathering their attention.

As Tony opened his eyes, he was met by the entire team standing in front of him smiling at him. He was about to get up when he felt Skye's grip on him get tighter so he just relaxed back into the couch looking at her with a smile. It was then that he remembered what Skye had told him and he went pale and cold once more.


	9. More About Skye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team talks about Skye and everything they know so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. Sorry for not updating in a while, but I injured my arm and wrist, as such I could not write there for a while. I am healing up and as such, I started writing again, so enjoy.

They watched Tony as he contemplated how to get up, but then go white. Everyone got worried wondering what could have caused the behavior. "What’s up?" Steve asked. Tony shook his head. He needed to talk to them, but he didn’t want to wake Skye, as he didn’t think that she got much sleep, and needed the rest. He grabbed the pillow placing it between him and Skye, slipping off the couch ungraciously. He would’ve landed on his ass if it weren’t for Clint steadying him. He smiled his thanks then nodded at the door, turning and leaving himself. The group looked at Skye once more before leaving as well. They needed to talk to Tony and figure out what’s going on.

Tony was lost in thought, thinking about everything. For once he actually had a good night’s sleep, with no nightmares or anything. He didn’t even need his morning cup of coffee. When the team entered the kitchen they found Tony sitting by the large island table that separated the kitchen from the living room.

He was just staring at nothing. The group surrounded the table, "Tony?" Steve asked gathering the man’s attention. "What’s going on?" he then asked. Tony sighed, stood up, and went to his coffee machine, 'looks like I’m going to need the caffeine after all' he thought to himself. He placed extra mugs on the island counter, brought the pot with coffee over saying, "I think we are going to need something a lot stronger than this". Tony took his seat once more, not getting alcohol. He had a kid to think about. "Okay, what the hell Tony," Clint asked getting agitated. What could be going on that Tony would pale and go cold or say they need alcohol.

Tony sighed but then started, "Last night, or rather very early this morning, Skye came knocking on my door. She wanted to sit in my workshop while I worked. I asked her if she had a nightmare and she said yes..." Nat cut him off. "Tony we already know the kid gets nightmares. Fury said so.” Tony took a gulp of his coffee and then proceeded, ignoring the interruption. "I asked her if she wanted to talk, but...." this time Steve interrupted him, "Fury said not to ask". Tony nodded his head refilling his cup. He was going to have nightmares about this. Just add it to the list. He dragged his hand through his hair; ‘I need a shower’ he thought to himself, and then went on, "instead of talking, she asked me if I had nightmares. I told her I did and she asked me about them. So I told her about mine." Everyone was very surprised. He opened up to a kid he hadn’t even known a day. "...anyway, it got her talking and well she told me about her nightmares" Tony sighed standing up walking into the kitchen placing his mug in the sink. He placed his hand on the counter and leaned on them shaking his head. How were they supposed to help Skye through this? "Tony what are they about?" Clint asked getting very worried, imagining the worst. "She saw what happened" Tony started turning around, leaning with his back against the counter instead. Everyone looked at him confused. "The Brody's murder" he clarified only to have everyone in the room go still. That was worse than Clint could have thought in some way. "How? Fury said she was sleeping?" Steve finally asked breaking the silence. Tony shook his head. “She wasn’t. She wanted to sneak some water from the kitchen. Got to the top of the stairs just in time to see the other kids get killed. She watched as they were tortured and then killed. She hid in the bed in the basement, because she heard what they were saying. She knew they were after her. She pretended to be sleeping when she heard footsteps, turns out it was Fury." Tony finished. He turned around to rinse his cup out. He definitely needed something stronger but settled on taking his seat once more and refilling his cup with coffee. The silence in the room was deafening.

Steve spoke up after a few minutes, "I think this would be a good time to bring up her other behavior as well". Everyone nodded. “Yeah she keeps stiffening and freezing when I touch her, and yesterday when Pepper touched her shoulder it gave her a panic attack," Clint said. "It’s not just you. When I went to place my hand on her shoulder, she flinched away. It’s like she thinks we’re going to hit her or something," Steve added. Clint sighed; "I was afraid of this" he whispered but was heard nonetheless. "What you talking about Barton.” “Foster homes...." he started saying, "Some of them are not that great. Most of them are abusive and others, well more than abusive, especially toward girls." he sighed letting the info sink in. "You don’t mean...?" Tony trailed of horrified at the implication. "I hope to god not, but it wouldn’t be the first time, and it looks like she got all the worst ones," Clint answered.

Bruce cleared his throat, "we also need to discuss her food situation." Bruce said changing the subject, "I mean Coulson was having her drink juices and by the sound of it, stuffing her with high-calorie foods and that was 6 months ago. I presume it’s worse now." Everyone nodded. "I agree..." Steve started saying, "she is way too skinny" Bruce nodded fidgeting with his glasses. Clint touched his necklace. He was going to protect this girl with everything he had. Bruce spoke up again, "I think a lot of juice, fruits, and vegetables will help stabilize her most likely deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, also high-calorie foods. We need to get her to put on some weight. Yesterday she was freezing in a room that wasn’t that cold because her body..." the rest was cut off by a scream coming from down the hall. Tony was up and running towards Skye in a second, Clint right behind him and the rest following at a slower pace. 2 was more than enough to deal with the situation, they didn’t want to cram her either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say thank you for all of your comments, they have really inspired me to continue writing my stories. I appreciate it.


	10. Another Nightmare and Some Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye has another nightmare, but Clint decides they need to have some fun, or maybe it was Skye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the very late update. Have been catching up with work now that my wrist is healed. Anyway, enjoy the long chapter.

Skye was sitting on the couch drenched in sweat, shivering, and trying to catch her breath. Just then Tony and Clint burst into the room and were crouched in front of her within seconds. She didn’t even notice the rest right outside the door watching with worry.

She looked at Tony with a frightened look, "I...ant...eathe..." she choked out hand on her chest. Tony nodded another panic attack. "It’s okay it was just a dream. Now breathe. Like this" Tony told her, then breathing in and out. Skye tried to follow, but all she could think of was her dream. It felt so real like it was actually happening. A flash of the knife cutting into Mr. Brody passed through her head and then the nightmare where she was the one being cut. Her breathing became more erratic as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Tony saw her getting worse and realized he wasn’t going to get her to calm down. He sighed, "JARVIS please direct Barton to where I keep my medications and give him the right name and dosage?" he asked the AI, which responded immediately, 'Of course sir" Clint looked at him confused but followed the AI's directions anyways. Tony went back to trying to calm Skye down with no success. Clint returned a minute later with a bottle of pills, half a pill in his one hand which he gave to Tony. Tony nodded then went back to Skye, "Hey Skye, I need you to swallow this. It’s going to help you breath ok?" he told her. Skye looked at him scared, but she couldn’t breathe so she decided to trust him at that moment and took the pill. Tony smiled at her and then went to sit next to her. He didn’t touch her or anything, remembering the conversation the team had.

It was about 10 minutes later that Skye's breathing evened out as she calmed down. She looked at Tony with a grateful smile, and then looked at the ground, thinking about her dream.

Flashback

Skye was watching as a man the group called Grant Ward, sliced into Mr. Brody with a knife, asking where she was. Mr. Brody had looked at her saying she caused their deaths and everyone around her was going to die.   
The next moment she was in a room tied to a chair, Clint, Nat, Tony, Dr. Banner, and Steve opposite her also tied to chairs. She didn’t want them to get hurt. They were so nice to her. Then Ward appeared in front of her with an evil grin. Everyone gets hurt because of you Skye, he told her. I’ll make you a deal, I will hurt you instead of them, but if you scream, cry or make any noise for that matter, then I hurt them. He proceeded to cut her arm and she whimpered. He smiled at her then walked to Nat stabbing him in the gut. No!!! She yelled at him. Want to try again he asked her cutting her again, but she cried out. It happened 3 times, Nat stabbed, Tony shot, and Clint beaten. Then he shot her in the leg, and she screamed again, waking up in the workshop.

End Flashback

Tony and Clint watched Skye as she stared at the floor. Tears started running down her face again as she stiffened and went pale. Tony reached out to her, "Skye you ok?" he asked only to have her launch into his arms hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, looking at Clint over her shoulder. Clint sat down on the couch next to Tony, placing a hand on her back, rubbing soothing circles. "I’m so glad your okay Tony, all of you!" she said causing both Clint and Tony to look at each other, not understanding what Skye meant. Skye pulled back from the hug wiping her tears away. "You okay?" Clint asked again. Skye nodded slowly; "yeah," she said in a whisper; "it’s just you, Tony, and Tasha" she looked up, realizing Nat wasn’t there. She started panicking again. 'Was it real?' she asked herself glancing around. Tony and Clint noticed this. "She's fine, kid," Clint told her while Tony motioned for the others to come in. Skye looked up when the door opened and she saw Nat. She ran toward her and hugged her around the waist. She hugged her back glancing at Tony with a questioning look. Tony shrugged as he didn’t even know what was going on. It would appear that she had a nightmare about them getting hurt.

Clint realized then that they still had to talk about Skye, but couldn’t do it with her right there. He sighed, "Hey Skye why don’t you and I go get lunch, you did miss breakfast after all.” Skye let go of Nat and smiled at the group, then walked to Clint. She took his hand so he could lead her to wherever they were going to eat. Clint smiled at her, but bent down and picked her up. For a moment he regretted his decision as she went completely stiff, but then she smiled and asked him, "Could we have grilled cheese?" Clint smiled too but then looked at Banner for permission. Bruce nodded, "its fine, just add fruit and some juice" Clint nodded then started tickling Skye as he walked out the door. Her laughter could be heard by everyone who smiled hearing her being happy.

So what was that about, Nat asked Tony? So Tony proceeded to tell them what happened and what he thinks the nightmare was about.

“So Skye?” Clint asked as he put her down on a chair next to the Kitchen Island. He had taken her to the common floor kitchen, to give the rest of the group as much time and space as needed. He will catch up later. "You want a grilled cheese sandwich huh?" Skye nodded with a smile. She was watching Clint take things out of the fridge and so forth. She glanced at the bowl of apples next to her and remembered that Ms. Brody said if you wanted fruit, you have to wash the dishes. She glanced at the sink and saw that there were a few cups and plates, probably from that morning’s breakfast. She got off her chair and went over to the sink, starting to run the water while looking for the soap. "What are you doing?" Clint asked her with a small smile. She looked at him, then the fruit, the sink, and then back at him. "Washing dishes" she stated. Clint shook his head, closing the taps. He grabbed an apple and handed it to her, already knowing why as he remembered her story from the previous night. "If you want something, ask. No need to wash the dishes for it." Skye took the apple from him and smiled. "Thank you" Clint went back to making grilled cheese for everyone.

Skye finished her apple, washed her hands, and went to Clint. "Can I help?" she asked. He smiled at her wiping his hands with a cloth. "You don’t have to," he told her. She smiled, "but if I wanted to, could I?" she then asked, rephrasing the question. Clint shook his head but handed her a bowl of cheese saying she needs to place it on the bread that already had tomato on. She smiled and did what told, sneaking a piece of cheese every now and then. It soon turned into both of them eating cheese out of the bowl and laughing about it. Clint found cans of spray cheese and they both sprayed each other, trying to catch the food with their mouths.

When the rest of the team entered, it was to the sight of a giggling Skye, a laughing Clint, and a huge mess. Grilled cheese sandwiches lay on the counter on a plate, while Clint and Skye chased each other around the kitchen island. Both were covered in spray cheese and so was the kitchen. They stood there smiling at the sight with amusement. When Skye came round the table she saw them staring and stopped in her tracks. She looked around at the mess she had made and gulped. She looked at her own clothes and then back at the group, an uneasy look on her face. She took a step back, only hitting Clint in the process. She tried backing away from him too, but she was cornered, behind and in front of her counters and to the sides, the avengers. She curled in on herself, making her as small as possible, when Tony stepped up to her, "having fun?" he asked. She just stared at him waiting for the yelling and hits to come, but it didn’t. Instead, they all smiled at her. She glanced at the mess again then back at them. Clint caught on, and sighed, "Skye you’re not in trouble ok. Besides I started it so it’s my fault. I’ll just have to clean it up," he told her. She looked at him hesitantly and then glanced at the group with a grin. Just then she sprayed cheese in Clint’s face as he was standing right next to her. He got an incredulous look on his face as Skye burst out laughing, everyone else joining in. Clint was about to have his revenge when Nat stepped in, "alright children. That’s enough. It’s time to eat" Skye smiled at her, "I’m sorry Tasha, I just couldn’t let that opportunity go." Skye told her with a grin.

With that everyone turned around shaking their heads, grabbing the clean plates and food, to go eat in the living room as the kitchen was ruined. Nat mumbled something about her being just like Clint as she left. Clint just threw a cloth at Skye as he finished cleaning himself off. Skye smiled thanks and wiped the cheese off her. She was about to start cleaning when Clint guided her to the living room instead. He sat down with some food eating, but Skye just stared at hers. “Is something wrong kid? Thought you like grilled cheese?" Tony asked. Skye smiled at him, "I do. But I can’t eat anymore I’m full." Clint looked at her confused, "you only had an apple." he told her. She nodded at him but grinned, "We also had grilled cheese, just without the grilled part" she told him making him laugh. She frowned then added, "also without the bread and tomato part." Everyone laughed at that. "Yeah, we did eat a lot of cheese. Even I’m a bit stuffed" Clint said looking at his still almost full plate. They continued eating, chatting, Skye, and Clint only nibbling on their food.

When everyone was done, they started cleaning up, and Skye walked over to Nat hesitantly. She glanced around to make sure they were alone before speaking, "Uhm... Tasha?" she asked. Nat looked at the girl with a smile, “yes Skye?" Skye looked around again, shifting from one foot to the other, fiddling with her necklace. She looked down at the floor, before softly asking, "I really want to take a shower..." she said drifting off. Nat crouched down in front of her, "there’s one in your room sweetheart." Skye looked at her again. She noticed then that Nat was really good at hiding her emotions. "I know it’s just...." Skye trailed off again. How do you ask a stranger, who was going to be a sibling, for help, doing something you were old enough to do yourself. Nat smiled at her, "need some help?" Skye only nodded, so Nat stood up walked over to Tony, whispered something to him before taking her hand and leading her to the elevator. “Where they going?” Clint asked Tony. Tony shrugged, “bath time I guess,” he said before going. He needed a shower himself and then needed to get some work done.


	11. Scars of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stories of the past, and the marks they left, in the present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!!!!  
> Mentions of abuse and rape.

When they got to Skye's room, Nat told Skye to get some clothes while she started the shower. She didn’t mind having to help the girl; she was starting to care about her. When she came back into the room, she found Skye looking at a photo of her and Coulson at the beach. She smiled but didn’t say anything about it, instead of asking Skye if she was ready. Skye quickly placed the photo back in her bag when she heard Tasha's voice, zipping it close and neatly placing it on the floor at the foot of the huge double bed. She liked the plain sky blue blankets and there was a lava lamp on each of the bed stands, which stood on either side of the bed. The walls were a whitish-yellow, almost cream color and there was a huge dresser on the opposite side of the bed. The floor was covered in a soft white carpet with a mirror hanging just above the dresser.

Skye collected her clothing, which consisted of a long worn-out denim and tank top. She handed them to Nat, who looked at the clothes with a sigh. "We need to take your clothes shopping" she stated. Just then JARVIS spoke up, "Ms. Potts took the opportunity to stock up Skynet’s closet with a few things before she left yesterday." Nat nodded placing the clothes on the dresser walking over to the closet Skye right behind her. They ended up picking a long sleeve shirt and sweatpants after Skye protested and then got excited about the new clothes.

As they entered the bathroom, Nat placed Skye’s clothes on the cabinet next to the basin. The bathroom was a bit bigger than average, but nothing to fancy. There was a large square shower in one corner, a basin and cabinet across from it against the other wall, a toilet next to it. A large mirror hangs next to the shower with a railing full of white fluffy towels. A mat lay in the middle of the room with smaller ones in front of the shower, basin, and toilet.

Skye started undressing, used to doing it in front of people like a lot of the times, the girls at the orphanage would help the younger ones. Nat wasn’t bothered by it either, that was until Skye took off her shirt revealing a bunch of scars. Nat stared at the girls back horrified, "Skye what happened to your back?" Skye turned to Nat with a confused look. Was she hurt and didn’t know it. She looked at her back in the mirror but only saw her scars. "How did you get those scars?" Nat asked again. Skye smiled sadly at her, "Mr. Thompson" was all she said before pulling off the rest of her clothes and getting in the shower.

Nat helped Skye shower, wash her hair and dry off, before letting the girl get dressed. When they entered the room again, Nat offered to brush and do her hair, as she always did it for the other girls in the red room. Skye had agreed and was now sitting crossed leg in front of her as she brushed her hair. The scars were still bothering her so she decided to ask again, "Skye can you tell me how you got your scars?" Skye didn’t move just staring at the wall in front of her. "Mr. Thompson didn’t like it when we broke the rules, so he punished us. He also drank a lot of beer which made him angry." she stopped brushing Skye’s hair for a second before shaking her head and continuing. "He liked using the wooden stick. Ms. Eland used a whip or locked us in the basement and the Campbell brothers just used their hands. It’s punishment for breaking rules." Skye finished, not at all bothered by the memories. Yes it hurt, and she was afraid of it happening again, but it’s normal to punish kids for bad behavior. Nat finished Skye’s hair but instead of getting up, she turned Skye to look at her. Suddenly the conversation they had earlier and the implications Clint made came to mind. "Skye, did anyone ever touch you in a way that made you uncomfortable?" Nat was hoping for a no, but apparently the kid had the worst luck. Skye thought for a moment then looked at Nat, "No, Mr. Shaw tried once but the other foster girl, Emma intervened. We were sent back to the orphanage a little while later and Mr. Shaw got arrested. Emma was like a sister to me I really miss her." Skye said getting sad at the memories of the one person who had cared about her. Nat however was relieved that Skye had been spared that trauma, but she was still super pissed about everything else and she needed a drink. "Okay well, I’m done so you can go have fun now," Nat told her getting up and hauling Skye to her feet. Skye smiled at her, gave her a hug, and left, going exploring instead. She wanted to know everything there is to know about this place.

Clint and Steve were in the common room, debating the best foods when Nat entered heading straight for the bar. Clint noticed first and was up and after her in seconds, Steve behind him. "What’s up Nat?" Clint asked as she poured and then downed a drink, pouring a second. She sighed and turned towards Clint, who got real worried after seeing the look on her face. "You were right," she told Clint referring to the earlier conversation. Clint looked lost at the statement though so Nat explained everything that happened, seeing the scars, the stories everything. At the end of it, everyone was horrified and extremely angry, including Tony who had joined them during the conversation. He just wanted to get something to drink but walked into that instead. "Where is she?" Tony asked. Nat shrugged, "I told her to go have some fun. I think she went exploring instead" Tony frowned. Wasn’t one of them supposed to be with her at all times? "JARVIS where is Skye?" Steve asked. It took a second as the AI searched the building before replying, "I believe Skynet is on the roof" the group glanced at each other before taking off toward the elevator. They were worried as an 8-year-old on an 80 story building’s roof was a bad idea. Tony was prepared to call his suit just in case she fell.


	12. A Moment with Skye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team spend some time with Skye and learn new things.

When they got to the roof, they found Skye sitting cross-legged on one of the walls that lead to the helipad area. Her eyes were closed and her hands folded in her lap while her face was turned to the sun. They approached slowly not wanting to scare her, deliberately taking heavy steps so she could hear them approach. "Hey Skye," Tony said walking closer. Skye smiled but didn’t move, enjoying the sun. "Hey Tony, you want to join me?" She asked, eyes still closed and body unmoving. Tony glanced around. To their left was the walkway that leads to the helipad on the other side of the low wall Skye was currently sitting on. One floor down and a bit to the left, you could see the walkway for Tony and his suits, sticking out. Tony glanced at the others before returning to Skye, "what we doing?" he asked going to sit next to her. She wasn’t near the edge of the roof or in any danger of falling so he relaxed a little. Skye smiled again, opening her eyes to glance at Tony. "Enjoying the son of course" Tony glanced at the others again unsure what to make of his current predicament. "You guys are welcome to join to," Skye told the group at the back without turning. Clint smiled and walked over, jumping on the wall and mimicking Skye’s position. Steve and Nat shrugged walking over and sitting on the wall. 

And that was how Bruce found them an hour later, the group of 5 all sitting on the wall enjoying the sun. He had come up to do his meditation when he found them. He smiled but didn’t bother them. "You can join us, Dr. Banner," Skye told him. Nat opened her eyes and looked around spotting Bruce. She hadn’t heard him come out. She looked at Skye confusion on her face, how did she know he was there. Skye smiled and opened her eyes looking at Nat. She quirked her eyebrow in a May like way making Nat frown, then smile. Bruce joined them on the wall as well, "so what you are guys doing?" He asked the group. "Enjoying the sun. I have to admit it’s kind of nice." Tony said, making everyone but Skye look at him surprised. He was not one for sitting and doing nothing especially outdoors. "You learn to enjoy the small things in life when you lose them" Skye commented making everyone frown and look at her. "What you mean?" Clint asked. Skye shrugged, frowning, "basements are dark," she simply said before going back to enjoy the sun. Now everyone stared at her, thinking about the implications of her statement, but didn’t say anything, instead of going back to enjoying the sun as well.

“So Skye you have any friends you would like to come to visit?” Bruce asked a few minutes later. 8-Year-olds had to socialize with people their own age; it was part of growing up. Skye looked at him then shrugged, shaking her head and turning back to the sun. “What about Emma?” Nat asked, remembering that Skye had said that the girl was like a sister and that she missed her. Skye opened her eyes, then shook her head, a sad expression on her face, “Emma can’t come and visit Me.” she simply replied. “Well, maybe you can go visit her” Bruce spoke again, only to have Skye shake her head again. “No I can’t, but I would like to take flowers to her grave,” Skye said, looking at Tony and then Clint hoping they would agree. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Bruce told her to feel bad for bringing it up. Skye gave him a sad smile, ‘It’s okay. I mean, I miss her, but she was my sister, and I don’t mind talking about her.” Tony smiled at her, “She was your sister?” he asked, wanting to know more about Skye. Skye nodded at him, “Not by blood, but we chose each other. She always protected me, and I tried to protect her. She was actually the reason why my name is Skye” Skye revealed to the group. “Really?” Tony asked surprised. “Yeah. She always told me that I reminded her of the Sky, so when she died, I started going by Skye as a reminder.” Clint gave her a small, hug which she returned. “That’s really nice. May I ask what happened?” Bruce told her, but he wanted to know what happened to Emma, as it seemed that they were so close, and after hearing what Nat told them, he was worried, it might be another trauma that Skye had experienced. Skye turned to Nat when she answered; “After Emma stopped Mr. Shaw...” she looked at Nat, wanting to know if she knew what she was talking about, but everyone got what she was talking about, so Nat just nodded. “I was left in my room...”

Flashback

Skye was left on her bed crying, as Mr. Shaw dragged Emma out of the room. Skye thought it was to punish her, for standing up to him. That night, Emma didn’t return to her room, and the following morning Skye found her sister sitting on the steps, in the back yard. She sat next to her and gave her a hug, asking what was wrong. Emma had wiped her tears away and smiled at her little sister, then gave her a hug, promising that Mr. Shaw would never scare or hurt her again. A five-year-old Skye had smiled up at her sister, asking if it was true, only to have Emma nod and hug her once more. 

3 weeks had passed since that night, and Skye was never hurt, again, but Emma got sad, really sad, and one morning, Skye found her in her bed, dead, with foam coming from her mouth. She had called Mr. Shaw, who cursed all the way to the kitchen where he called someone. Skye found 2 letters on her desk, one addressed to her, and the other saying, ‘give to police’. Half an hour later when police showed up, and took Emma away, saying she had overdosed on pills, Skye approached an officer and gave him the letter. He had read it, and gone pale, taking Skye and placing her in the back of a police car, saying she was going back to the orphanage. Mr. Shaw was arrested a few minutes later.

Papers called him a rapist, and Emma’s photo was in the news. Skye was sent to a therapist, which she hated, and never spoke to.

“I didn’t understand at the time, but now I know. She protected me and got hurt for it. Made a deal to save me, and then killed herself because it hurt.” Skye was crying as she recalled the events. Steve gave her a hug, as they all processed this information. This girl had survived, more than any human being should, and she was only 8 years old. Maybe getting therapy for her wasn’t the worst idea. “I’m sorry you had to go through that” Bruce spoke up, recovering first. “Skye smiled at him as Steve stepped back, sitting on the wall again. “It’s okay Dr. Banner. It was a long time ago.” Skye told the man, turning to face the sun once more. everyone else let it go at that, not wanting to upset Skye or make her remember more, instead of going back to basking in the sun, what Skye had told them replaying in their heads.

Clouds started coming in, indicating a rainy night lay ahead. Skye started getting cold and shivered, which Tony noticed. "Well I think it’s time we head inside where it’s warmer," Tony said jumping off the wall and then offered his arms to Skye who smirked at him and did a backflip of the wall instead. "Where’d you learn that?" Nat asked impressed. Skye looked at her before smiling, "aunt May" she said before walking to the door. Tony was about to instruct JARVIS to open the door for them, when Skye bent down and lock picked it, entering the door as if nothing happened. They all froze in their tracks staring at the closing door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, sorry for the late update, but I am getting swamped with work. Because of this, I will now update on weekends instead of Fridays, but still every week.


	13. Skye Gets Scared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye gets scared and runs. On the way, she gets hurt.

They stood there for a few moments before shaking themselves out of their shock, and then followed after Skye. They found her waiting for the elevator. "Hey, Skye. Why did you go to the roof instead of one of the balconies which are a lot safer?" Tony asked. Skye looked at him, "JARVIS said I didn’t have access to those" Skye told him then yawned. She was getting tired that was for sure. Tony frowned, "but then why the roof?" He was very confused now. She should not have access to the roof either. Skye just shrugged, "the roof door could be locked picked, and the balcony ones have to be hacked. I don’t use my laptop anymore so roof door it was then" Tony nodded. That made some sense. He made a mental note to find out why she didn’t use her laptop anymore because he really wanted to see this kid work. His thoughts were interrupted by Clint asking, "lock picked?" Skye smiled at the memory of being taught how, "yeah, aunt May said if you can pick it, then you have access and no one could say otherwise. She taught me how to do it." Clint frowned. What kind of aunt knew how to do backflips and pick locks, and taught their nieces as well. "Your aunt May sounds like a really cool person?" Nat asked. She on the other hand was wondering why the kid was in foster care if she had a family. Skye smiled at her, "yeah she was the best. Agent May always visited while I was staying with dad... Uhm Coulson. Though she always wanted to train....." the rest was cut off by Clint as he realized who Skye was talking about. "You know Agent Melinda May!" he all but yelled, which terrified Skye, whose body went rigid, her smile fell and she took a step back. No one noticed as they were interrogating Clint and apparently Nat who both knew the agent as well. Their voices got louder as they started arguing over whether and why Skye would know Agent May. Skye started glancing around the room, she needed a way out and the elevator was not an option as it will only trap her. She spotted the door to the stairwell and started moving towards it all the while keeping an eye on the group. Clint finally noticed her behavior and winced, then cursed himself and the group. They should have known better. The others soon realized to as Clint took a slight step forwards towards Skye, "Hey, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to scare you, I promise we weren’t yelling at...." the rest was not said as Skye glanced at the hand Clint extended then back at him as he took another step forward. She bolted through the door and down the stairs, needing to find a place to hide until they calmed down.

Clint’s shoulders sagged as he sighed. The group was about to follow Skye but Clint stopped them. "No. Give her time. If you chase after her now she’ll think it’s because we are mad at her." Tony frowned but nodded. He could just ask JARVIS to keep an eye on her. "We really need to be more careful of how we act around her," Steve said, feeling guilty about what just happened. "I agree," Nat said walking away, she too felt bad for scaring Skye. They all left to go do their own things, everyone feeling guilty about what happened.

Skye was running down her 4th flight of stairs when she stumbled and tripped, rolling down the rest of the stairs. A loud snap was heard as she landed on her arm. She sat up against the wall, clutching her left arm to her chest. It hurt like hell and she was pretty sure she at least cracked it. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself then got up and made her way to her room, more slowly this time.

When she got there she changed into some warmer clothes including a jacket to help cover her already bruised arm. She stared at her laptop bag. She had made a promise, but right now she needed to hack for her own sake. She sighed at took the device out of its bag, wincing, and struggling with her arm. She hacked into the tower, and JARVIS then started tampering with the AI’s coding. She made it so JARVIS couldn’t tell anyone of her whereabouts, or whether she was hurt or not. She also gave herself access to a few other places including the balcony then wiped any trace of her existence before shutting it down and leaving the room. As she made her way out, she headed straight for the balcony. Yes, it was clouded and cold, but she needed fresh air and no one was going to think to look for her in a place she didn’t have access to, besides she was dressed warmly. The balcony wasn’t that big and sported 2 comfy chairs with pillows, a table in-between, and a hammock to the right there were two potted plants, one in each corner of the balcony. She smiled as she spotted the hammock on the balcony and got in it, letting her mind wander, until she unwillingly fell asleep.


	14. A Broken Arm and Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team goes looking for Skye. Skye thinks about the past and has a hurt arm. Tony is surprised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for skipping last week's update, but I started working on a new Story called Saving Tony, but I did not forget about this one. So here is a double-length chapter to make up for missing an update. Enjoy.

It was about half an hour before dinner when everyone, but Skye sauntered into the dining room on the common floor. They usually talked a bit while waiting for the food. Tony was as usual the last of the group to arrive, still neck-deep in work on his tablet. He took a seat and put the device away looking up and smiling at everyone, "Tonight I thought we could have Mac and cheese, lasagne and moose for dessert." The group nodded, Tony always decided what was for dinner unless it was take-out. They didn’t really mind. "I thought..." Tony continued, "Skye would..." he looked around the table and noticed Skye wasn’t there. “Where’s Skye?" he asked the group. They glanced around and at each other, "Has anyone seen her since... Uhm... since the incident this afternoon?" Tony asked getting worried. Everyone looked around shaking their heads. They hadn’t seen her since then. Now Tony wasn’t the only one worried. "JARVIS, whereabouts on Skye?" It took a second for him to answer as the AI tried finding a way around the new code in his system, "Skynet is in the building sir." he finally said. Tony huffed in annoyance; he was going to have to look at the AIs code again. "Be more specific JARVIS?" he asked. Another second before the reply came, "Skynet is in North America, US, New York City in Avenger Tower." Tony stood up grabbing his tablet, something was definitely going on and he was very worried now. "What the hell is going on Tony?" Clint asked, his worry seeping into his voice. Tony didn’t answer as he was looking through JARVIS’s code. Suddenly he threw the tablet on the table ordering; "JARVIS put the tower on lockdown. Close all doors windows and balconies unless ordered otherwise by me." he looked towards the team, "we need to find her now! JARVIS’s code has been altered to give no info on Skye." That got everyone’s attention. "You don’t think those people are here for her?" Bruce asked. Tony looked at the man still pacing, "I don’t know" Steve stepped up in front of Tony to get his attention, "can you fix the code so JARVIS can tell us where she is?" Steve asked, putting emotions aside. He needed to be a leader now. Tony shook his head, "Normally yes, but whoever did this was skilled. It would take hours, maybe even days. It would be easier to find her the old fashioned way." Steve nodded. "Okay then. We split up; Tony you and Nat start at the top floors where you have access to the labs. The three of us will start at the lobby and work our way up, we meet in the middle. Eyes open guys; we don’t know what this is." The team nodded and started moving, but just as they reached the door JARVIS interrupted them, "Sorry sir, but a person on the balcony on your floor is preventing me from locking down that area." Tony frowned. No one was allowed up there except the 6 Avengers, Pepper, Rhoday, and now...Skye. "Tony smiled, "Thanks JARVIS." The group looked at him confused; they were supposed to find Skye. "I believe we just found Skye" Tony said before getting in the elevator and pressing the button for his floor. The group joined him as well.

When they got to the balcony door and opened it, they were met by strong winds and buckets of water, as the clouds from earlier had turned into a storm. Nat immediately went for towels knowing Skye would be soaking wet. Steve and Tony stepped up to the hammock to find Skye thrashing in her sleep. 'Poor kids nightmares are never going away' Tony thought. Steve grabbed her arms to calm her down but was rewarded by a loud cry, as he didn’t realize he was hurting Skye’s already hurt arm. He let go immediately at grabbed her shoulders instead, shaking her to wake her up. He yelled her name louder as the storm and thunder were drowning out his voice, he too was now drenched to the core. Tony came over as well, putting a hand on Skye’s lower leg, yelling for her to wake up. Suddenly Skye was sitting upright panting, barely balancing in the hammock. She started to shiver uncontrollably, teeth chattering from the cold. Steve picked her up, even as her body stiffened at the motion; he carried her inside where Nat was waiting with an arm full of towels. He sat her down on her feet as Tony came over with a towel he got from Nat and wrapped Skye up in it. She bit down on her tongue when he touched her arm, not wanting to show she was hurt. Steve dried himself off as well then took over for Tony so he could dry as well. A click could be heard as JARVIS closed the balcony, covering it from the rain. Skye was still cold, shivering. Steve sighed, "Nat can you please take her to get dressed. She needs to get out of the wet clothes before she gets sick?" Nat nodded and held out her hand for Skye, Skye hesitated but walked to Nat’s other side so she could hold Nat’s hand with her right hand instead. Nat frowned but filed it away for later, walking towards Skye's room, "meet for dinner when we’re done" she told them over her shoulder as they disappeared down the hallway. Tony sighed, "What was she thinking?" he asked the group. Steve shook his head, “We’ll have to ask her about it after dinner” he said before leaving to get dressed. Everyone else left as well to get ready for dinner once more.

Skye was worried about getting dressed in front of Nat as her arm was most likely all kinds of shades where she had hurt it. She needed to think of a way to get Nat away before they got to her room.  
Just as they got to the bedroom door Skye thought of something. She stopped and tugged on Nat’s hand to get her attention. Nat looked down at Skye as she felt her stop, "what’s wrong Skye?" Skye shifted from one foot to the other as she wasn’t sure how this would go. Either she gets Nat away while she dresses or she was about to be in some serious trouble, "Uhm...Dad...Coulsen made me warm chocolate when it was cold..." Skye started then looked at a frowning Nat. Skye was about to abandon ship when Nat spoke, realizing what Skye meant, "You mean hot chocolate. Yeah, his was the best. We have some here, would you like some. Ours might not be as great as his, but still." Skye smiled at Nat, her plan had worked and now she could have hot chocolate too, "I would really like some if you don’t mind Tasha." Nat nodded at Skye letting go of her hand. She didn’t say anything about the nickname, which she liked. "Why don’t you go get dressed in warm clothes and I will go let Tony know we are having hot chocolate after dinner, ok?" Skye nodded and entered her room where she painfully and with a struggle got dressed.

Everyone was already in the dining room when Nat got there. "She ok?" Clint asked the moment he saw her. Nat nodded, "she asked for hot chocolate," Nat said looking at Tony, who nodded and started talking to one of the workers while Nat took her seat. They started eating and a few minutes later Skye also got there. She stood at the door watching the group eating and talking, with a smile. They seemed so nice, like a family, like people who cared. She shook her head to clear the thoughts, no one cares. People just hurt others no matter what. Sure they pretend to care but that’s only to make good impressions.

Flashback

People can be kind Skye, you’ll see one day, Coulsen said to a little girl while crouching in front of her with his hands on her shoulders.

End Flashback

Skye smiled at the memory. She really missed Coulsen, he was always nice. He had said that Clint and Tasha were good too, but she hadn’t believed him. It’s why he told her people could be kind. Maybe these people in front of her were too, just like him.

Clint was no longer eating as he was watching Skye standing by the door looking at them, but it was clear that she was lost in thought. Emotions were flying across her face from smiles to frowns and sad smiles. She clearly had a lot on her mind. She kept rubbing her arm to like it was hurting. Nat and Steve noticed Clint as he was just sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed across his chest. Both gave him questioning looks, and he smiled at them before looking at Skye again, "penny for your thoughts Skye?" Everyone turned to look at Skye as she was startled back into reality. "My thoughts are worth more than a penny" Skye quipped back but then immediately winced realizing what she had said. Tony started laughing and everyone else smiled, happy that Skye was acting like who she was. Skye walked and took a seat next to Steve across from Clint who was sitting next to Nat who was sitting next to Bruce. Tony was on her other side. "Lasagne or Mac and cheese?" Tony asked grabbing her plate. Skye scrunched her nose, "what’s le...lasagne?" Everyone stopped and looked at her, "what you mean what’s lasagne. It’s the best thing on earth" Clint started. Skye frowned then shrugged, she didn’t particularly care what she ate. Tony shook his head and scooped some lasagne into Skye's plate, saying she was in for a treat. Skye thanked him for the food and he shrugged it off going back to eating himself.

A few minutes later as the team started finishing dinner they started talking again, happy to wait for Skye to finish as she was only about halfway done. Tony was tinkering with his tablet but after a few minutes, he slammed it on the table in frustration, making Skye jump and nearly choke. "Sorry, Skye didn’t mean to startle you. Just struggling with some equations for work" he apologized. Skye smiled at him, "may I see?" She asked hesitantly. Tony quirked a brow but handed her the tablet anyway. She wiped her hands and took it skimming over the work. About a minute later she handed the tablet back to Tony saying, "Exchange 7 for x7 and 12 with 28 and it should work. Also try adding 4 grams of sodium" then going back to eating. Tony grabbed the tablet, went through what she just said then looked back at her, staring in disbelieve. Everyone else was looking at her now too. Skye looked up just as she was about to take a bite of food, then froze as she met their eyes. She looked at Tony not knowing what she had done. "Sorry Mr. Stark, I just wanted to help with..." Skye started apologizing. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. Tony immediately started shaking his head, "where’d you learn that. I’ve been struggling with that for weeks and you solve it within a minute." Skye blushed, "It was nothing" she shrugged it off. Tony looked like a fish out of the water, opening and closing his mouth, while Clint tried to hide his laughter by biting his knuckles. "Hey Tony maybe you should get her to fix your computer and AIs code" Clint joked. Skye shook her head, "no-no. I don’t code anymore unless it’s an emergency" Bruce looked at her curiously, "why not?" Skye sighed putting her fork down, "I made a promise" she told the group looking at her lap. A tear slipped down her cheek as she thought about Coulsen. She looked up again and then at Tony, "thank you for dinner. It was great." Skye said standing up with one arm as the other still hurt. "I’m sorry Skye. I didn’t mean to upset you" Bruce told her walking over to her. Skye gave him a small smile, "It’s ok. I just miss him". Skye wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt as more tears fell. Clint crouched in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders just like Coulsen always did, "Coulsen?" Skye just nodded. "I do too. All the time," Clint told her then pulled Skye close for a hug, but the moment he did Skye cried out in pain as her arm was pinned between her and Clint who immediately let go and looked her up and down worriedly. "What’s the matter Skye?" Tony asked as everyone was standing around her now. Skye however did not answer and instead swayed on her feet. The pain was too much and black spots invaded her vision. She tried taking a deep breath to get it under control, but her vision went black as she passed out. Clint’s arms were around her the moment she swayed. He caught her as she collapsed which made him very worried.


	15. Skye's Medical File

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye needs medical attention, her scans, and tests, on the other hand, shock Bruce, and he shares with the rest of his team, the findings related to Skye's medical history.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys and girls for not updating as regularly as I used to, but it's the holiday, and loved ones are important too. I have been writing, and will not forget the story. I will update twice this week, to make up for the lost time. 
> 
> I also started another story called Saving Tony, which I will publish in late January once the entire thing is finished, making it a once-off publish, a New Years' gift from me to all the people who have been following my story.
> 
> WARNING!!!  
> This chapter includes severe injuries suffered during abuse, Skip to end note for summary without details.

Bruce was next to them on his knees checking on Skye the moment she went down. Bruce was checking her entire body up and down, trying to figure out what was going on. "Check her arm," Clint told Bruce thinking back to how she was acting. Bruce gave him a confused look but lifted her sleeve and everyone gasped as they saw her very colorful arm. Bruce who was usually a very calm guy, cursed under his breath as he stood up, looking at Clint, "can you take her to the infirmary. Just be careful of the arm though”. Clint nodded, picked her up gently, and walked towards the elevator, everyone else right behind them, worried about Skye.

Once they got there, everyone waited outside the infirmary, except Nat, Clint, and Bruce. Natasha dressed Skye in a gown, as both men felt uncomfortable doing so. Bruce took x-rays of her arm, and entire body, for the medical files, finding it best to do it now while she was unconscious rather than later. He also updated the file by taking a CT and MRI, also adding all her scars and so forth to the file. Once he got the x-ray of her arm, he sighed in relief, as she didn’t need surgery to fix it. He injected her with some pain meds and sedation to keep her under as it was going to be very painful to reset the arm before putting it in a cast. Nat and Clint were standing beside her the entire time, Clint holding her hand and Nat brushing her hair with her hand. Both were also very deep in thought, thinking about how this girl could get injured and not saying anything. At least it couldn’t be too bad or she would have shown signs of pain and they could have noticed.

When Bruce finished he asked Clint to move her to one of the beds so she could sleep comfortably. Clint was glad she was getting sleep, even though he didn’t like how she got there. The 2 men and 1 woman made their way out to a waiting Tony and Steve, who looked very worried. Bruce was still studying the x-rays and scans he took, blood running cold at what he was seeing.

"How is she?" Steve asked the 3 people coming through the door. Both Nat and Clint shook their head as they didn’t know. Sure she looked fine, but both knew looks could be deceiving. Everyone turned to a pale Bruce who had discovered something on a scan. He shook his head to clear his mind, locked the tablet, and looked up at the expecting eyes. He cleared his throat before he began, "Skye seemed to have somehow broken her radius in the second quadroon of her arm..." some looked confused, mostly Tony so Bruce sighed and simplified his explanation, "Skye broke her arm..." He was interrupted by Tony. "That doesn’t sound so bad so why did she collapse?" Bruce rubbed his hand over his face and continued explaining, ignoring Tony's interruption, "her arm his badly broken and the bone shifted, cutting the tissue inside the arm as she kept moving it. By not immediately treating it, the bone got damaged worse as the broken ends kept shaving against each other. I realigned them and put a special cast, one that Dr. Cho created, on her arm to keep it in place. She will have to wear it for 2 weeks, before moving to a normal splint for 2 weeks, after which we are going to have to work on the muscles to get them strong again." Bruce finally finished. Tony physically cringed at the thought of having broken bones shaving against each other. Steve started speaking, bring Nat and Clint back from their thoughts, “How did she not pass out earlier, or even continued as if nothing happened. She must have been in a lot of pain.” Nat, Clint, and Tony nodded along, thinking the same thing, Bruce just sighed. 

“I just started looking over her x-rays, and well, by the looks of things, pain must be normal for her.” Clint sighed, knowing what that means, and they already know she had a shaky past, but Tony, on the other hand, needed to know, “What do you mean, pain is normal?” Bruce switched his tablet back on, meanwhile gesturing for everyone to take a seat, ‘Might as well explain it to everyone at once’. “So by looking at Skye’s x-rays, I can see at least 12 breaks, that never healed properly, not to mention it could be more, as sometimes bones break in the same place, and there is no way of telling how many times a bone broke in a single place. There are also indicators, that she has fractured a few ribs at one point or another, and I don’t quite know how to explain this, but there is healed micro-fractures covering both her arms and also a healed orbital break, and nose break, which by the looks of things, has had medical attention, as they healed perfectly. The scans further indicate that her skeleton is very weak, severe calcium deficiency is my thoughts, as we know she hasn’t been on a great diet.” Bruce went on explaining everything as he looked the scans over, not looking up to see the horrified faces, and very nauseous looking Tony. 

He switched to the MRI scans and CT scans, continuing with his explanations asking that they do not interrupt him as he proceeds, “the rest of her scans show a lot of scar tissue on her back, shoulder, left thigh, upper chest, and what looks to be two gunshot wounds on her stomach. She has had her spleen removed, but those incisions look professional, so I am assuming it was done in a hospital by a surgeon. CT showed some scar tissue in the brain, I presume from brain bleeds which usually happens when something impacts the skull, hard. There are a few more minor things I can see, but anything more will require me to more thoroughly look at the scans and results. Frankly, to be honest, right now, I don’t think I can.” Bruce once again switched the tablet off, tossing it on a table that stood to the left of the chair he was sitting on, as he leaned back, finally looking up at his team, not really surprised by how they look, as he himself could use a few drinks and maybe a memory wipe. Nat had put her mask up and started pushing her feelings down, trying anyway. Clint just felt sad, but the sadness was starting to give way to extreme rage, and he was wondering how Bruce had not Hulked out yet. He knew foster care could be rough, but he never expected anything like this. His childhood seemed like paradise compared to what this little girl had gone through, and they didn’t even know all of it. Some wounds don’t leave scars, not to mention her mental state. Steve didn’t know what to think. He was angry, sad, surprised and so much more. He couldn’t begin to imagine what this girl had gone through, yet Bruce just laid most of it out, and he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Tony, well, Tony was just plain sick to his stomach. He wanted to throw up, sure there was rage and sadness, but mostly he was nauseous. He always complains, about how his father was the worst and never there for him, but as it turns out, he was a saint compared to the people Skye was staying with, so yeah, defiantly sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMERY!!!  
> Skye has been through a lot of foster homes that were abusive and while doing an x-ray for her arm, Bruce decides to do scans of her whole body so they didn't need to put her through that later. The scans show all the scars and marks that years of abuse have left, and Bruce explains this to the team, after telling them that Skye's arm would need to be in a cast but it would be fine otherwise. The team is horrified by what Bruce tells them, and mixed feelings cover the group, and Tony is a bit sick.
> 
> THANK YOU!!!  
> I just wanted to thank everyone that has been sticking with my story, even with the irregular updates, it means a lot to me. Also for all of the comments, which has really kept me going with the story, as I never thought it would get so many reads. You people are amazing beings, so thank you.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy the holidays and have a great new year. 
> 
> Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas.


	16. How to Help Skye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and the rest of the team discuss, how they could and should help Skye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter of the week as promised. It's short, but hopefully, you will enjoy it.

Nat was the first to break out of their shock into a silent stupor, asking Bruce what happens now. Everyone looked up at Bruce hoping he had answers, they weren’t cable of raising a child, let alone help someone through what Skye has had to endure. Sure they could keep her safe until the people that were after them were caught, but what else could they do. Bruce leaned forward in his seat, clasping his hands together in front of him, as he tried to recall anything he knew about dealing with trauma. So he started with medical facts first, choosing to leave mental for last. “First of, as I said, she needs to wear the cast, then the splint to heal her arm. We will have to get her on a calorie-rich, high vitamin and mineral diet as I previously mentioned, to restore and build up everything her body has lost, and severely needs. I will be putting her on vitamin and calcium supplements as well, to help speed up the process. She looks to be in good shape, fitness-wise, so I don’t think exercises and such at this point is needed, but I will recess, once she starts putting back on some weight, and her levels balance out. As for emotionally and mentally, I want to consult a few colleges first, who have more experience in this field, before prescribing treatments and such, but at the moment, I think there are a few things we can do to help her. For one, we need to be careful how we react around her, like today for example...” The entire group was listening, giving Bruce their full attention, wanting to do everything they possibly could to help Skye. “we can defiantly say there was abuse, and as such, she will have triggers that can cause her to run, or have panic attacks as we have already seen. It seems like things like shouting, unexpected touch, fast movements, or anything resembling anger or fighting can trigger her, so try and avoid those. We will also have to try and get her to trust that we will not hurt her...” at this point, Clint adds his thoughts, as he is a bit familiar with this area, “Which will not be easy. Foster kids have been let to believe and trust and then let down, leading to abandonment issues, severe trust issues, and so on.” Bruce nodded his head, “I agree with Clint here. I also believe that her abuse was not gender-specific as she is ok with both Tony and Steve, but skittish around me and Clint...” at this, he gives Clint an apologetic look, before continuing, “Same for Nat and Pepper. She seems to trust Nat, Tony, and Steve the most. Now as I said, I will be consulting a few colleges and keep you updated as I learn more, plus I think getting her into a routine would be helpful, but not forced upon her. At the moment I can’t think of anything else.” Bruce finished, sitting back in his chair. Everyone was in thought, thinking about everything that they just learned, to think only two hours ago they were having dinner. Tony interrupted their thoughts a few minutes later, “so basically you are saying, spoil her every minute of the day, while trying not to scare her and earn her trust.” Steve shook his head at Tony as Nat rolled her eyes and Bruce sighed, “Yes, Tony in a way, that is what I am saying.” Tony just smiled brightly; as he started thinking of all the things he can do, to put a little joy in the girl’s life.

They sat there for about 20 minutes discussing ways they could watch what they do, help Skye, and so forth when Bruce got an alert on his tablet that Skye’s heartbeat was raising. The others saw this as well, and everyone stood up at once, going through the doors to see Skye and what was causing the rise in her heart rate.


	17. Just some Random Moments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few sweet and random moments between Skye and the team.

Skye was feeling weird. Her arm had a dull ache and felt trapped as if something was enclosing it. It hurt to open her eyes, so she opted for keeping them close. She tried to remember where she was and how she got there. She faintly remembers, Nat, saying she would get hot chocolate, and then hugging Clint? There is a smell in the air, disinfectant, and something she can’t quite place. Is she in a hospital? She starts shifting, trying to see if anything hurts, but nothing, just the ache in her arm. She decides to try and open her eyes, investigate and figure out where she is.

As the group of heroes enters the infirmary, they see Skye shifting around in the bed, then frowning as she slowly opens and closes her eyes a few times, before finally keeping them open. They come to a stop in a circle around the bed, not too close as to not overwhelm her. She goes to rub at her eyes with her hands, only to stop and look at the sky blue cast, (Clint’s idea). She yawns and looks up at them, not even giving the cast a second glance. “Hey, how are you feeling?” Bruce asks, as he slowly steps forward to remove the ivy, projecting his movements for her to see. She stretches, then watches him remove the IV before answering, “I’m okay” Bruce gives her a disbelieving look but continues his tasks. She looks around her confused for a moment and then looks at Clint, brows furrowed, as he is the last one she remembers interacting with. He looks back at her just as confused, not sure what is going on in her head. She clears her throat, then asked with a small rough voice, “what happened?” Bruce hands her a small cup of water and straw with a small smile. She smiles back at him, reaching for the cup, and tells him thank you, before turning back to Clint.  
He sighs, but starts to explain, “You broke your arm...” she nods, running downstairs. She figured it was either cracked or broken. Clint continues, a little surprised that she did not react to hearing she has a broken arm, “You went missing for a little while, we found you in the rain on a balcony, which we will still talk about, but not now, and at dinner, I gave you a hug, but it hurt your arm so you passed out.” Suddenly realizing he was the reason she passed out from the pain, he starts feeling guilty and ads an apology to his explanation of the events, “I’m so sorry for hurting you Skye, I didn’t mean to, but...” he cuts himself off, knowing no amount of apologies is going to make her believe him. 

As he explains, she nods her head, and when he mentions talking about the balcony, she flinches a bit and looks down at her hands, the heart monitor next to her raising a few beats. She remembers the dinner and Clint saying he missed Coulsen too. When he starts apologizing for hurting her, she snaps her head up to look at him confused. Adults don’t apologize for the hurting, they only hurt you more. Besides it wasn’t his fault, she fell down the stairs, he didn’t push her. He looks back at her brows furrowed, as she stares at him confused. She then shakes her head, and looks him in the eye, “it’s not your fault”, she tells him and now it’s his turn to be confused. “But I hurt your arm when I hugged you” he then tells her and she gives him a soft small smile, “My arm was hurt way before you hugged me, so not your fault, unless you turn into ghosts and push people downstairs” she gives him another smile as everyone chuckles at her.

They all sit there and talk with her a little while, about the basic of things, when Nat brings up Clint’s days in the circus. Skye’s eyes are drooping more and more, but she doesn’t want to go to sleep, afraid of what will haunt her this time, when she closes her eyes. The team of courses notice this, so Bruce stands up, “I think it’s time for Skye to get some rest, I think we all need it.” Skye perks up immediately, asking whether or not she needs to stay in the infirmary. Bruce gives her a sad smile, “Unfortunately yes, but only for tonight” Skye slumps her shoulders, heart rate picking up once more, the machine announcing it to everyone in the room. “How about if we let her sleep in the guest room across the hall, that way she is near the medical facility, but also not in it?” suggests Tony, and Skye is looking at Bruce pleadingly. Bruce sighs but agrees, and Skye can’t help but smile. 

Skye’s smile soon falls as she still, doesn’t want to go to sleep, even after the entire group helped settle her in the guest room, and as everyone tells her goodnight and leaves to go to bed as well, she can’t help but reach out and grab Clint’s hand, the last to leave. Nat glances over her shoulder when she notices her partner, isn’t following her anymore, only to have him give her a small smile and nod, indicating she should go on without him. He turns back to Skye who is staring at her lap now, not entirely sure what is about to happen, as grabbing the hand of a grown-up was a rookie mistake. But instead of yelling or hitting, he just asks her in a very gentle voice what is wrong. She doesn’t want to answer, because well, who is scared of sleeping? She looks at him with a small bit of hope in her eyes, hope that he will say yes, rather than call her a baby, when she asks, “Can you maybe tell me a story. I don’t want to sleep...” she sighs, and changes her mind. She could deal with this, she has before, and “It’s okay, night Clint.” 

Clint is not sure what to think when she asks for a story, but then she changes her mind so fast, that he can’t help but sigh. He slowly sits in front of her on the bed, waiting for her to look at him and when she does; his voice is soft and gentle when he asks if she’s afraid of having a nightmare. She only nods and looks back down. He decides, that he will stay awake with her, tell her as many stories as he possibly could, about anything she wanted, because tonight he is going to make sure, she gets at least one hour where she feels safe, and not afraid of what haunts her. He smiles at her, then tells her to scoot over as he sits with his back against the head of the bed, then pats the space beside him, indicating she should sit next to him. At first, she is hesitant, but then smiles and with caution, snuggles up next to him, the entire time, making sure he is in her sight. He asks her, what stories she would like to hear, and for a moment she just sits there and thinks, before asking him to tell her about all the animals at the circus. He is hesitant at first, as the circus, does hold some memories that haunt him, but he decides, the little girl snuggling into his side, her joy, is worth it. So he tells her all types of stories about the different animals, and everything that they could do. 

About an hour and a half later, she is fast asleep next to him, so he kisses her forehead, pulls her blanket around her, tucking her in before whispering goodnight; she stirs long enough to mumble Goodnight Clingy, before drifting off again. He stares for a moment not sure he heard right, then smiles and leaves to sleep on the couch, in the waiting room, so he can be near in case she needs him.

That morning around 4 am, Tony is sitting in his living room, working on his tablet, annoyed that a nightmare woke him up once again. He can’t help but wonder how it is that every time he sleeps, he is woken by a nightmare, except the previous morning on the couch in his workshop. He had slept well, and late, quite late, without a hint of a dream. He woke up rested. He is concentrated on his work when a small voice speaks to him, “Aren’t you going to sleep Tony?” he startles a little, and looks up to find Skye, standing a few feet from him, wide awake and looking at him. He gives her a small smile, “I could ask you the same thing?” She nods her head, but then notices the bags under his eyes, the way he looks, and she recognizes it from the mirror. “Nightmare?” she simply asks, and he has to smile again, before nodding his head to her. She sighs, and takes a small step closer, “You don’t have to talk about it, but if you want to I’m here, it might help” she repeats what he had told her the first night when she showed up in his workshop. 

He puts his tablet down on the coffee table and gestures for her to come and sit next to him. She smiles a little, and walks over, sitting on the couch right next to him. She looks at him, as he stares in front of him, the nightmare fresh in his mind, when she speaks again, a whisper, “I get Nightmares too. They are usually different, but sometimes the same one.” Tony looks down at her, as she stares at him, and he swears, she is looking at his soul. He gives her a weak smile, as he tells her it was the same one he always gets, the one he had told her about that first night. She looks at him, thinking, before she stands up and walks down the hall, returning a minute later with the blanket and pillow from the workshop. She gives the pillow to Tony who looks at her confused, so she rolls her eyes, and places it on the arm of the couch, telling him to lie down. He smiles but does as she says, interested to know where this is going. She climbs back on the couch, snuggles into his side, and with difficulty, due to the cast, pulls the blanket over them both, so they lie just like they did that first night. “Having someone with you can help take nightmares away” she tells him, and he can’t help but smile at this sweet and adorable kid. “Try to sleep Uncle Tony, I’ll stay with you to make the nightmares go away” she snuggles into his side, as his eyes open in surprise at what Skye had called him. He doesn’t say anything, just closes his eyes as she starts humming the same song from when she just arrived. The one his mother used to sing to him, and like that he drifts off to sleep, Skye not even an hour later, joins him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!!!!


	18. Unknown Location

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unknown Location, Unknown events.

Unknown Location

“Sir, Agent Ward is here as requested”, an unknown man, informs the guy in charge, who is sitting behind a large ivory desk, reading through reports, and files on his desk. To his left, lies a Smith & Wesson, Revolver 357 Magnum, the silver barrel glinting in the light from the lamp on the desk, the rest of the room other wisely dark. His face covered in shadows, making him unrecognizable, as he looks up to acknowledge the man that had just spoken to him, “Let him in, and close the door behind you” he declares before going back to his work, not even acknowledging the man's, Yes, Sir, before he left.

A minute later, Grant Ward, hands his berretta P Storm to the guy who just let him in, and with a nod, the guy closes the door behind him. Ward walks to stand in front of the desk, feet apart, hands folded behind his back, the perfect soldier stance, as he waits to be addressed. “What have you found on the girl?’ Ward is asked, not even a minute later, the guy not even looking up to meet his eyes. It’s at times like these that Ward wishes, that his previous boss was here, Agent Garret, but he is somewhere unknown to Ward, sent on a mission by the guy sitting in front of him. He clears his throat before he speaks, making sure it is clear and steady, not showing, that the guy actually scares him a bit, “Nothing since Brody’s sir. As you know we received Intel placing her there, but when we went to interrogate the family, they claimed to not know of the girl.” Ward’s hand twitches behind his back, as his Commander lifts his steely gaze, to look him directly in the eye, and Ward has to fight the urge, to look away. “Any theories on what happened and where she is?” the Commander asks, more demands, as he puts down his work, hand twitching to the revolver, just encase he don’t like the answer. Ward, glimpses and the gun, then looks his Commander in the eye when he speaks, “Yes sir, I believe either bad Intel was leaked, to place us on the wrong path, or the girl's name was changed, and she was actually there. I currently have someone, checking the family records to see if they fostered anyone else, and when I am done here sir, I will be following up with my informant to make sure the Intel wasn’t wrong.” The Commander nods his head, as he folds his hands in front of him on the desk, tapping his thumbs together, as he strategizes for a moment, thinking through everything he knows. “As you know agent Ward, the girl is of the utmost importance to our operation...” Ward nods his head, not wanting to interrupt, but also wanting to acknowledge that he does know, “So finding her, is key. I believe there are two people that will know where she is, one is Director Fury, the other Agent Coulsen” Ward shifts slightly as he speaks again, “Yes sir, but Agent Coulsen died in the battle of New York.” A shiver runs down his back when he sees the Commander’s wicked grin, but he schools his features and listens, as the guy speaks, “So you believe Agent Ward, but I have recently learned that Fury somehow brought him back to life.” Ward nods his head; of course, Fury would pull something. “Yes sir, but with no disrespect, I have a mission to complete, including, the interrogation of my informant” The Commander nods his head, then presses a button on his telephone, not even a minute later, the door opens and a guard pushes a hooded man into the room, a bag over his head, hands tied behind his back. The guy is forced to his knees, bag removed, before the guard leaves again after receiving a nod from the Commander. Ward stares at the guy in front of him, his informant, who he actually called a friend, as they grew up together. He turns back to the Commander, ignoring his friend who now stands on his knees, a few inches from him, fear all over his face. No weaknesses, he reminds himself. The Commander watches Ward’s reactions closely, satisfied with what he sees, he turns his attention to the informant, “Adrian, we have a bit of an Intel problem it seems...” at this Ward glances at his friend, who sharply looks up at the Commander as he continues speaking, “about a week ago, you informed Agent Ward here, that the asset we are looking for was staying at the Brody residence, yet when we searched it and interrogated the family, there was no sign of it. Can you explain?” Adrian looks up at Ward for a moment, eyes pleading for help, but Ward only looks at the Commander. Adrian sighs as he turns to the Commander, ready to explain, “Of course, a friend in the foster care system informed me that she had been moved there. I passed the Intel to Ward. I don’t know what happened. I will...” the rest was cut off as the Commander pulled his Revolver, and shot Adrian in-between the eyes. Ward had looked immediately towards his friend, the moment he saw the Commander pull a weapon. For a moment Adrian just stood there, before his body collapsed forward, blood pooling around his head. Ward looked back up towards the Commander, not even wiping the blood spatter from his face, as he was focused on showing no emotion, not wanting the Commander to see that he had formed a friendship, a weakness.

After a few moments of staring at the lifeless body of Adrian, the Commander, placed his weapon back in its place, looking back up at Ward, “Now that that’s taken care of, you have a new assignment. You will be infiltrating the team Agent Coulsen is putting together and report back to Agent Garret everything you learn. You have two missions, first and most important, Intel on the girl, we need to find her. Second, how Agent Coulsen was brought back to life, I believe Garret is in need of that information, and well, he is one of our best agents.” Ward took in all the information then replied with a Yes, sir. The Commander told him, another agent would brief him on anything he needed to know, and then dismissed him, telling him to send the guard in to clean up the mess, before going back to work. As Ward left the office, he had to hide his relief of having to go back to reporting to Garret. To be honest the Commander scared him and freaked him out, which is why he hated working with the guy. As he left he told the guard about Adrian, and then as he walked out the building he took a moment to grief and then promised himself, no more attachments. He got in his car and left for his meeting with another agent, ready to be briefed for his next mission.

Not even 2 days later, he was on his way to Paris for a mission, ordered by S.H.I.E.L.D.


	19. Another Morning at the Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team spends another morning with Skye at the tower.

Avenger Tower

Breakfast had come and gone in the tower, Tony and Skye once again a no show, but more surprising was the absence of Clint, as he was usually there to get a good share of the food. At around 11, Nat decided to go searching for the missing members, starting with Clint, telling Steve and Bruce that she would tell JARVIS to inform them if anything was up, or help was needed. She left, deciding to start at the guest room across the infirmary, as Clint never made it back to their floor the previous night.

As she got out of the elevator, she immediately spotted Clint, fast asleep on the sofa in the waiting area. She woke him up, being as quiet as possible, thinking Skye was probably still sleeping in the guest room. 

Clint woke up with a groan, muscles aching from sleeping so awkwardly on the sofa. He glanced at Nat and asked her what time it was. She informed him it was a bit after 11 am, and he was surprised by the fact that he actually slept in. He asked her if Skye was okay, assuming she was already awake and had left him to sleep. Nat shrugged, informing him that she hadn’t joined them for breakfast. Clint was immediately up, walking to the guest room to check on her, only to find the room empty, and the bed made. “JARVIS, where the hell is Skye?” he asked, as he started towards the elevator, in search of the little girl. How was it that they kept losing her? “I believe she and Mister Stark are sleeping on his floor” JARVIS informed him, and Clint had to pause for a moment. He glanced at Nat, who shrugged and got on the elevator, as Clint asked JARVIS to take them to Tony’s floor.

Nat was the one that spotted the duo in the living room on the couch, as Clint was making his way towards Skye’s bedroom. She waved him over not wanting to wake them up, and Clint had to smile as he spotted them. Tony had turned on his back, head on the pillow which rested on the armrest. Skye was curled up, snuggled into his side, arms gripping Tony as if she was afraid he might disappear. Tony was actually snoring, so Clint took yet another photo and gestured to Nat that they should let them sleep, as they both clearly needed the rest. They got on the elevator and asked JARVIS to inform everyone else of the situation, and that they should not bother the two sleeping beauties, Clint’s words, of course.

Tony woke up, just after 12 that afternoon, well-rested, and with Skye still hugging him tightly. He smiled down at her, as he asked JARVIS the time, and was very surprised by the reply. He gently touched Skye’s shoulder, whispering her name, waking her up, without startling her. She blinked a few times before letting Tony go, in favor of rubbing her eyes. Tony had to stop her from hitting herself with the cast, as she clearly didn’t remember having it. She gave him a small, smile as she sat up, and moved over, allowing him to sit up as well. “Sleep well Tony?” she asked him, in a small rough voice. He nodded at her as they both stretched, then asked her, “How about you Skye?” she yawned before giving him a small smile and nodding her head as well. Just then the elevator dinged, and Nat came walking into the room, “Oh good, your both up. Lunch is ready if you want to join us” and with that, she turned around and got back on the elevator. Skye turned towards Tony with a frown, “Lunch?” Tony grinned at her, “Yeah, it’s when you eat something, usually between the hours of 12 pm and 2 pm” Skye giggled at his answer, “I know what lunch is, but what about breakfast?” Tony looked deep in thought, as JARVIS replied for him, “It’s 20 past 12, Skynet” Skye looked completely startled. She had slept for way too long. Skye looked at Tony to apologize, but he beat her to it, “You have a good point Skye, I say, we get both. Have brunch instead.” Skye looked confused, which made Tony chuckle. “Don’t worry about sleeping late Skye, I did to remember. So? How about it? You up for breakfast and lunch?” Skye smiled and nodded her head.

A few minutes later, everyone in the dining room was distracted, by Tony walking through the dining room towards the kitchen, piggybacking a laughing Skye. “Ah, what’s happening?” Clint asked, only for Tony to stop and laugh with Skye. He shook his head as he turned towards Clint, “We are getting cereal” Steve frowned, “But it’s lunch” Both Tony and Skye laughed again, so Clint asked, “What am I missing?” it was Skye that replied, “We are having both” and with that Tony turned and walked off into the kitchen, Skye still on his back. The rest of the group just shook their heads.

About 15 minutes later Skye came walking into the dining room, struggling to clutch the 3 boxes of cereal in her hands, the cast making it even more difficult. Clint stood up immediately, helping her place the items on the table as Tony came in with bowls and spoons. He placed the items on the table next to the cereal, and helped Skye into her chair, sitting down next to her as they both grabbed a bowl each; Clint grabbed one too, deciding to join them in their craziness.

Skye finished an entire bowl of mixed cereal as she decided to try them all, by mixing them in one bowl. She also had a small fruit salad which Bruce insisted on, as he had added Skye’s supplements to the salad, thinking it best that way, rather than trying to get a kid with trust issues to swallow pills and syrups.

They had talked about all kinds of things, including Skye, the team getting their first glance at her personality, since she got there. After lunch, or in the case of Tony, Skye, and Clint, Breakfast, and lunch, Skye helped clear the table, insisting on it, so the team let her, still keeping an eye just in case she needed help. Clint and Nat left for the gym, wanting to get some training in, Tony and Bruce went to their labs, to get work done, and Steve decided to watch one of the movies on his list, still trying to catch up with time. Skye followed him to the living room, Steve not even noticing, until she climbed on one of the couches, laying down with her head on the armrest, body curled up into a ball, staring at the TV. Steve played the movie, glancing her way now and then to make sure she was okay. 

Not even halfway into the movie, Skye was fast asleep once more. Steve lost interest in the movie and kept looking at Skye, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to all that they now know about the little girl in front of him, and how much she had been through. He also thought about how exhausted she must be if she was sleeping again, not even 2 hours after waking up from what was supposed to be her nightly sleep time, but was instead ruined by nightmare after nightmare. He so wished, he could take it all away, and have her live a normal life.


End file.
